Red Shadow
by Miss Starfire
Summary: Star defeated Slade. Red X sacrificed himself for Star, and Robin and Starfire are finally together. Yet, things are not as they seem. Shadows from the past come to haunt the Titans down, especially Starfire…and then Robin. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

**NOTE:** I am back! I know it's been a while and you guys may not remember who I am anymore but I will try to refresh your minds! Well, this time I am back…with a vengeance! This story is the last part of the Trilogy that started with "Secrets of a Traitor" and continued with "Trust", so if you are going to read this, you may want to read these two stories first. They are not that long and not that boring, I can assure you that much.

**SUMMARY:** Star defeated Slade. Red X sacrificed himself for Star, and Robin and Starfire are finally together. Yet, things are not as they seem. Shadows from the past come to haunt the Titans down, especially Starfire…and then Robin.

**DISCLAIMER:** Don't own the Titans

_Modified the last paragraphs 04/19/05_

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**RED SHADOW**

**Prologue**

"_It has been almost a year since our dearest friend died. He vanished in the air after he gave his life for us. A year has passed since his presence taught us the valuable lessons of life, love, death and trust. He was different from all of us. He may have been the same age as us but he acted like he had lived longer than we had, and he probably did. Never gave up on his dreams and achieved his goals, even if that cost him his life and, at the end, it did. He was willing to give his life for the one he loved, so he gave his life…for me"_

Starfire flew upwards, her eyes and fists glowed a bright green. She was furious. Her gaze was upon those who had caused them so much pain. She was going to destroy them, no matter the cost. Robin knew this and it hurt him. Starfire had changed so much since Red X had died for them. She was the same caring and loving person around them, but when the time to battle arrived, her attitude changed entirely. She was merciless, feisty and sometimes even vengeful. Starfire hurt when she fought, and Robin hurt along with her as well.

"_What happened to you, Star? When did I allow this to happen?"-Robin thought_

Robin and Starfire had been dating for a year now and sometimes even Robin could not assure that he knew who Starfire was when she was battling. However, he also knew she could not control herself even if she wanted to. Robin could recall all those nights on the roof when, after a bloody and miserable battle, Starfire would cry her eyes out regretting how much pain she had inflicted on the criminals they fought. Robin would be there to comfort her and bring her back to reality. The reality he liked; the reality in which Starfire acted like a hero, not like a murderer.

It was as if she was avenging Red X in every criminal they encountered. Like if she was trying to make Red X's death worth the pain and the sacrifice. Even knowing that Red X had not being forced to die and took the decision by himself, Robin knew that the circumstances made Starfire feel guilty about his death. Even though she had not found a cure for his disease, Robin knew she believed she could have done something more for Red X. In everyone else's eyes, including Red X's, she had done what she had to and maybe some more. Unfortunately, in Starfire's eyes, she had failed Robin, she had failed her friends and she had failed Red X. In her eyes, it was _all_ her fault.

"Starfire, hang on!"-Robin yelled

Robin had lost himself in his thoughts so much that he had not realized that Starfire was loosing control over herself again. She was recharging after eliminating many of the new and mysterious enemy's henchmen. He had to calm her down before she hurt herself again.

"I can handle them, Robin"-Starfire said

"I won't leave you alone"-Robin said

Starfire ignored Robin's reply and began charging her starbolts. Her gaze went from one henchman to the other. She then started to blast them one by one. However, this was not enough. Whenever she blasted one, two appeared on his place. She blasted those two and four came out. As strong as she was, she was being outnumbered.

"Leave…me…alone"-Starfire said

She began blasting the henchmen faster and with more strength. She had begun alternating starbolts with eye laser beams. She was not going to allow them to win. Not this time. Starfire screamed to recharge.

"Starfire, stop!"-Robin yelled

Robin ran towards an angry Starfire while he tried to get her attention. He knew that, as soon as she lost control, it was going to be hard to stop her. Last time she rampaged this way, Raven had to constrain her with her powers to keep her from hurting innocent bystanders. That time she had hurt BB as well. Robin was very close to Starfire now; he could hear her grunt every time she threw a starbolt. She was getting tired but she was not going to stop now. Some henchmen ran towards Robin and he easily stopped them by using his always reliable Bo Staff.

"Get out of my way!"-Robin yelled

Robin fought every single henchman that got in his path to save Starfire. He was attacking them without even thinking, his main goal being to get to Starfire and get her out of the trance she was falling into. Finally, Robin was able to stand below her and began calling her name. She did not respond.

"Darn it"-Robin whispered

Robin saw Starfire stop what she was doing and their eyes met. There was something in Starfire's eyes that did not belong to her. She was upset, at something; something that Robin had not seen. Starfire prepared her starbolts and aimed at Robin, she then threw her starbolts at him. Starfire sent an attack to Robin's direction.

"Starfire, no. It's me Robin!"-Robin screamed

Robin was too concentrated in trying to get Starfire's attention that he did not notice when one of the henchmen had aimed his gun at his back. Robin turned but he had not enough time to react to the attack, yet at the end, he did not have to. Starfire's starbolt had hit the enemy, saving Robin's life. Robin's eyes widened to see the man behind him stumble down to the ground and die right on the spot. Starfire had saved him, again.

"_She wasn't going to attack me"-Robin thought_

Robin felt ashamed of what he had thought about Starfire just seconds ago. He had doubted her. He had feared her and feared for his life. He had felt threatened by his girl. It was then that Robin realized that he had lost all trust in her. His feelings had not changed, but his fear had been greater than his love for her just seconds ago. It was time to make it stop.

"Starfire, that's enough!"-Robin yelled

"I am not finished. The enemy is still present"-Starfire said

"I'm not asking you that, I am ordering you to stop now"-Robin said

"But Robin, I am almost done, if perhaps I was allowed t--…" Starfire could not finish her sentence. One of the henchmen blasted her with a gun and Starfire began falling. Robin ran towards her and caught her just in time. Robin reached for his communicator and informed the rest of the Titans, who were in another place in the docks, that they had to retreat. Robin did not think Starfire was severely hurt but he did not want to take any chances either. In seconds, the Titans left the docks and, as fast as the Titans disappeared, the mysterious henchmen did too. Robin carried Starfire to his R-cycle and drove away from the scene as fast as he could. He stopped a few miles away from the docks and called to check on the rest of the Titans.

"Did it happen again?"-Cyborg asked

"Almost did"-Robin answered

"We are on our way to your position. Be there any minute"-Raven said

"Roger, out"-Robin said

Robin laid Starfire on the ground and examined her carefully. She had some bruises and some scratches but she was fine. Her hair was a little bit messed up. Robin used his fingers to comb Starfire's hair and while he was at it, he found a big and bloody bump on her forehead.

"_When did you get this, Star?"-Robin thought_

Starfire reacted at Robin's further examination of the bump and opened her eyes. She blinked several times and focused on Robin's face. He smiled at her and placed her head on his lap.

"Are you feeling ok?"-Robin asked

Starfire moved her eyes from his face and examined her own body. She was glad that everything seemed to be in place and nothing was broken this time. She then looked around her and saw that they were not at the docks anymore. Robin had moved them to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere between the docks and the city.

"Did I…hurt someone?"

"No, relax. You did well"

"Where are the others?"

"They are on their way. Are you hurting?"

Starfire did not feel any unbearable physical pain. Sure, some scratches itched and she needed a shower but there was nothing to worry about; nothing to worry Robin about, that is. She felt so miserable. She had not been herself in battle lately and Robin had suffered along with her. How could she hurt him like this? How could he deal with the same situation over and over again? He should have been tired by now. Even though she could not see his eyes she knew Robin was extremely concerned and somewhat afraid. It was then that Starfire realized he was still awaiting her reply.

"I am not hurting, Robin. Are you ok?"-Starfire asked

Robin smiled and helped Starfire stand up. Robin hugged Starfire with all his might and realized how fragile she felt in his arms. Regardless of the acts of outstanding heroism she had performed in the past, Robin would always have the necessity of protecting her from everything and everyone. Though sometimes he felt that he was the one who needed protection and that she was the one willing to protect him until death. This last part being the one he was most afraid of.

"We need to talk Starfire. This situation cannot go any longer"-Robin answered

Starfire nodded, not wanting to break the moment. She felt so secure in his arms. It was moments like this that she felt nothing could stand in between them. Moments like this made her feel that she could defeat anyone and anything to be able to end up in his arms one more night. Moments like this made her life worth the pain and the _nightmares_. He was the reason why she got up from bed everyday and she was the reason why Robin got out from bed as well, even if she did not know about it.

The communicator beeped and the Titans informed Robin that they were a couple of minutes away from them and that they would had been there in no time if BB had not forced them to stop so he could get lost in the forest and "go". Robin told the Titans that they would get ready to join them as they arrived so they could all make their way back home. It was the fifth night in a row that these mysterious henchmen appeared and attacked with no other apparent reason but to wake the Titans at the middle of the night and break their slumber.

"I have a visual of you. Don't stop the T-Car, we will follow you"-Robin said

In seconds, the T-Car passed right by them and Robin and Starfire followed on the R-Cycle. After half an hour of driving, the Titans arrived to their giant "T" and parked their vehicles in the garage. All five of them used the elevator to get to the living room and felt happy to be home. Cyborg went to the kitchen to make himself a "light" snack before "hitting the sack". Raven said she needed a shower and made her way to the bathroom. BB was too tired to make something to eat so he limited himself to take his tofu leftovers to this room, putting all the content of the dish on his mouth and tossing the empty dish somewhere in his way to his room. Robin told Starfire that he would cure her scratches so she should go with him. Starfire agreed and after finding the first aid kit in Starfire's room, both of them made their way to the roof.

Once on the roof, Robin carefully cleaned Starfire's scratches and bumps and paid special care on her forehead. Starfire winced a little but Robin reassured her that the small pain was part of a greater relief later on. Starfire knew it; this was not the first time she had gotten hurt in battle lately. It was as if she was becoming less alert every time they fought. She knew this was not good news for the Titans as a team as they had to be watching over her and some of them have had gotten hurt in the process.

"I am sorry"

"What for Star?" Robin asked without stopping his job of curing her.

"I am sorry for becoming a burden to you and to the team"

Robin knew she had somehow become a burden to the others but not to him. He was willing to sacrifice his life for her and saving her would never become last in his list. However, he knew that something needed to be done before Starfire's rage was uncontrollable and brought their doom. Robin sighed and kept putting bandages and band-aids on Starfire.

"You know you will never become a burden to anyone, especially to me"

"You just say that because you do not want to hurt my feelings"

"Do you really think I see you as a burden?"

"I do"

"Then don't. You should know better than to think like that. You know how I feel for you and what it means"

Starfire blushed at Robin's response. She should have gotten used to Robin expressing his feelings for her in one way or another but she had not. Remembering all the situations they had to go through in the past to be in the place they were now was painful. All the problems, all the misunderstandings, all the lies, all the distance between them had made her suffer back then but had rewarded her now with his love and his presence. She was so incredibly lucky that she was afraid her happiness would end any moment. She had always being afraid of that.

"Regardless of what you say Robin, I do know that my attitude in battle has not been the best. I have risked your lives and put you in unnecessary danger"

Robin finished curing Starfire and held her hands. He examined her face as to try to figure out what was really going through the Tamaran's mind. Her eyes did not glow as usual and her face was covered in sadness. Robin hated to see _his_ girl this way.

"Thank you for your help"

"Don't worry about it"

Robin cupped Starfire's face with his hands and rested his forehead on hers. He closed his eyes and concentrated on her presence; the presence of the real Starfire, the caring Starfire.

"Star, I have being thinking about this whole situation and I have made a difficult decision"

Starfire did not like the way he spoke. He spoke seriously and concerned. "You did?" This was the only reply Starfire could come up with.

"Yes, and before I tell it to you, I want you to know that every decision I make is for the well being of the team and its members"

"I understand, Robin" Starfire said while she deeply sighed, expecting the worse. "What is it that you have decided?" Robin touched her lips with his fingers and sighed.

"I also want to let you know that, in this particular case, I also took _us_ in consideration to make this decision. Can you keep this in mind?"

"I will" Starfire answered and grabbed Robin's hands and removed them from her face. She wanted to see Robin's expression when he gave her whatever news he had for her. She wanted to read the truth of the words from his face. Not even his mask would cover him from expressing his true feelings to her. She could see right through him and he knew it.

"Starfire, I think it is better for all of us and especially for you if you…take a break…from the team"

Starfire stared blankly at Robin, trying to process what he had just said. She heard "take a break" and "better for us", but not in the correct order. Starfire's eyes filled with tears and she collapsed to the floor on her knees. She thought Robin was breaking up with her and that he did not want her near them any longer.

"Do you want me to leave the Tower?"

"No, no, no…Star, look at me" Robin answered and got on his knees in front of her. He held her by her shoulders and gently forced her to look at his face.

"I don't want you to leave the Tower and I don't want you to leave me. I just think you need a break from crime fighting and maybe get some help to overcome whatever it is that is making you…" Robin stopped. How could he tell her that she was going crazy and that she needed to see a doctor to calm her down because he had failed as a leader and as boyfriend in trying to make her feel better?

"Loose it?" Starfire finished and Robin slightly nodded.

"Y-yes, I want you to get help…professional help. I have done everything I can but it's not helping. I want you to get better, we all want. Do you understand me, Star?"

"I do, Robin. I know it is for everyone's best. I do not want to suffer anymore either"

Robin hugged Starfire and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. She was officially out of the Titans. She had to take care of herself to be able to take care of the others. When did she allow this to happen to her? Again, she felt, this was all her fault.

"I want you to stay here. I will go with you tomorrow to see a doctor. We will get through this Star. You will get better and I will be with you all the way"

Starfire's sobs became less deep and she hugged Robin back. She had to get better for him. She had to get over her nightmares and her fears. She had to get over the fact that Slade had tried to kill her twice, that he almost succeeded in both attempts, that an innocent life had being lost in the path, that she and Robin had said and done mean things to each other. That she had failed Red X on finding a cure for his disease, depriving him of the life he so much deserved. And most of all, that she had willingly and ruthlessly killed Slade, and even though he was dead, he still haunt her in her dreams and she still saw his face on her enemies. Starfire needed to bury that past along with his feelings of despair once and for all.

"_I will do it for you, Robin"-Starfire thought_

Robin stood up and helped Starfire stand up as well. It was late and both of them needed to rest. Robin held Starfire's hand and pulled her to the door that lead inside the Tower, not before pushing her to the wall and kissing her for a long time. It did not matter how long they had being dating, kissing her always felt like the first time. After they had kissed for a while, both of them abandoned the roof and Robin walked Starfire's to her door.

"Are you sure you will be alright?"

"I will. I just need to rest and so do you"

"I will see you in the morning then" Robin said while Starfire opened her door. He did not miss the chance to kiss her again before she went inside her room. He put his hand on her back and pushed her against him. She had to hold onto the doorknob so she would not fall during the kiss and after it was done she only smiled and blushed.

"Good night, Robin"

"Good night, Star"

Starfire went inside her room and closed the door. She went to her bathroom and took a quick shower and, in no time, she was fast asleep on her round bed. She was too tired to even be afraid about her recurring nightmares, yet this did not mean that she would not have them tonight again.

Robin's last thoughts were of Starfire. He always thought about her before he slept, and tonight was not exception.

Titans Tower became silent; silent as the night that surrounded the giant "T" that our heroes called _home_.

**TBC…**

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**AN: **This is only the beginning but I must tell you that this story will be very different from the ones I wrote before. You may also see some OCness but remember that this story is a culmination of two previous stories in which the Titans have changed and evolved. This does not mean that I will make Robin wimpy or Raven a sweet girl or Starfire a bi#$. Think of the plot and characteristics as what it is: a development of the characters based on the two previous stories. Thank you for reading, hope you like it and see you soon!


	2. Visions

**DISCLAIMER:** Don't own the Titans

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**Chapter 1**

Visions

The night had ended faster than the Titans would have wanted. Last night had been the fifth night in a row they had not been able to get a good night's sleep. They knew that to wake up in the middle of the night to stop crime was part of their job description but this did not mean that their human bodies could take it every single night for a week. Even superheroes had their limitations.

Robin opened one eye and realized that the light that was bothering him was the rays of the sun that came inside his room through his open window. Robin groaned and stretched his arm as much as he could to try to reach the window. This idea was not any good since the window was on the other side of the room and Robin's bed was almost at the entrance of his room. However, when people are half-asleep, they tend to do illogical things.

"Stupid curtain"

Robin reached for his utility belt and got his birdarang out. He threw it to the curtain and pulled the rope attached to the birdarang and in seconds, the curtain was shut and the light diminished considerably. Robin smiled at his great triumph over the curtain.

"_Star's not the only one that can deal with stupid curtains"_

Robin rolled and rested on his back. He looked to his right and saw the time. The clock read 7:30 AM; it was too early for any of the Titans to be up already. Robin sighed and his stomach growled. Robin put a hand on his empty stomach.

"_Maybe I can wait a little bit longer and go back to sl…"_ Robin's thought was cut short by his stomach's rumbles again. _"…or not"_

Robin sat on the edge of his bed and looked around himself. He remembered the conversation that he had with Starfire last night. He wondered how Starfire would react today and the days to come. He was surprised she was not pissed at him for practically kicking her out of the team. He knew he would have gone mad if he got kicked of his own team, yet she was very different from him. And he loved it.

Robin was also concerned about the fact that with a new enemy meddling around the city, from which they knew nothing, the Titans were one member short. He knew that Starfire could help them from home but he did not want to bother her or give her any stress. He just wanted for Starfire to lay back, relax and get cured. This last thought brought him another issue: how to tell the Titans that Starfire would not be battling crime with them for an indefinite amount of time.

Robin rubbed his face with his hands and decided not to think about so many things this early in the day. He would take on things as they came. First things first, and the first thing he needed to do before seeing Starfire was to take a shower. He sure needed it after last night's battle. Robin grabbed a pair of black pants and a red shirt along with his underwear and his mask and headed for the bathroom.

Robin took a quick shower and on his way back to his room he realized that someone was cooking something. He did not know who it was but the food smelled real good. As if hypnotized by the smell, Robin walked to the kitchen and saw his girl making breakfast. She was wearing pink pajama pants and a white sleeveless t-shirt.

"Good morning, Star. I wasn't expecting anyone up this early. How are you feeling?"

Starfire smiled at him and stopped whatever it was that she was doing and flew towards him, embracing him with all the strength he could stand.

"Good morning, my Boy of Wonder! I am feeling fine, are you hungry?"

"Always"

Starfire giggled and grabbed Robin's hand to take him to the kitchen with her. She continued to cook while Robin looked at her and then spoke.

"Why are up so early? I was too tired to even close my curtains a while ago"

Starfire did not speak for a moment. She thought about telling him that Slade had been in her dreams again, tormenting her. She wanted to tell him that she was afraid of going to bed and that she was woken up by these horrible nightmares she had about Slade. She wanted to tell him that she was tired of not being able to sleep well and that she wanted him to comfort her all those nights she woke up trembling, sweating and scared. There were so many things she wanted for him to do but she was not going to ask for them. She had to be strong, for him.

"I thought that you would wake up early no matter what and wanted to make you a breakfast feast and take it to your room"

"You didn't have to, but thanks. I really appreciate the gesture"

Starfire continued cooking and Robin stared at her. Even though he did not say it much, he loved her more than words could express. He loved every aspect of her: her body, her soul, her heart and her mind; and he were willing to save her from what she was suffering. She did not have to tell him anything, he knew she desperately needed his help and he was going to do anything in his power to rescue her from the pain she was in.

Starfire was not aware of Robin's look. She was wondering if her other friends had already woken up and if they would want breakfast as well. She did not want to take any chances and made enough breakfast for Robin and Cyborg to eat, she put water to boil for Raven's herbal tea and was also preparing BB's tofu eggs and milk to be ready when he was awake.

Robin walked towards Starfire and put his arms around her waist from behind. He then rested his chin on her left shoulder and whispered on her ear.

"You are beautiful, you know that?" Robin said and kissed her neck. Starfire giggled and tilted her neck to her left. He knew he was tickling her.

"Robin, it is not fair to try to distract me, my hands are busy. I am cooking for all of us right now"

"Maybe they can make their own breakfast"

"Stop teasing me, Robin. I wish to make the news of my retirement from the team a little less bitter to them" Starfire said in a serious tone. Robin knew this was true. He hugged Starfire even harder and kissed her cheek.

"I don't want you to feel left out. I want you to be as active as you can without getting tired or hurting yourself. You are part of the team, of the family, I just don't want you to fight anymore for now, that's all"

Starfire stopped what she was doing and faced Robin, he did not let go of her.

"And I desire for you to inform me of any other…_changes_ that must be made. Do not hesitate to be honest with me, regardless of the matter. You will comply, yes Robin?"

"I will" Robin said and slowly kissed her. Starfire put her arms around his neck and strengthen the kiss, which did not last long. The door opened and someone cleared his throat. Robin and Starfire broke the kiss.

"Good morning, y'all! Seems to be a _very _good morning for you two!"-Cyborg joked

Both Robin and Starfire smiled at each other and Robin hugged her waist with one arm before walking to the big screen TV and turned it on to watch the News.

"What ya cooking, little lady?"

"I am preparing a breakfast feast for everyone. Care to wait a little bit longer Cyborg?"

"For you? Of course I can! I saw BB walking to the restroom and Raven getting out of it. They should be here in no time"

"Wondrous! I shall get back to my task"

"I'll make sure Robin doesn't _distract_ you anymore" Starfire could not help to blush and Robin blurted out something about Cyborg being the one distracting Starfire but Cyborg ignored him. He then sat next to Robin and watched the News with him. Cyborg and Robin watched the news attentively for a few minutes until Robin noticed that Cyborg was giving him a weird look.

"What's wrong Cyborg?"

"Star seems to be very…happy about something. What happened, man?" Cyborg asked while taking the remote from Robin's hand and began flipping the channels.

"What do you mean what happened? Nothing happened. Shut up" Robin said and took the remote back.

"I think something _did_ happen. Why would Star be up so early and making breakfast so happy?" Cyborg said grinning and lifting his eyebrows.

"None of your damned business" Robin said in between his teeth.

"Hey man, chill! It's not like I'll tell everyone! Well, maybe just B" Cyborg joked. Robin glared at him and Cyborg shrugged. "Actually, I just want to know if she's ok after last night"

"She's fine"

"Sure?"

"Positive"

"Cool"

Robin kept changing the channels without even really looking at them. After he was tired of pressing the button he handed the remote to Cyborg and stood up from the couch. He walked to the kitchen counter and sat on one of the chairs, staring at Starfire's every single move. Cyborg shocked his head and set the Game Station to play by himself. He did not know how much longer BB would take to get to the main room but he was not going to wait for him anymore.

Robin wanted to talk to Starfire about last night. He knew it was not normal for Starfire to be up so early alone by herself. He knew that Cyborg, as annoying he had being, had a good point about Starfire's behavior. There was so much that the couple needed to talk about.

"Is everything alright Robin?"-Starfire asked

"_That's exactly what **I** want to know"-Robin thought_

Robin smiled at her and she tilted her head in response. Even though Robin and she had become really close, there were sometimes that Starfire could not figure out what was going inside Robin's mind. Unfortunately, this was one of those moments.

"I was thinking that maybe you need some help"

"Actually I do. I require your assistance in searching for Raven and Beast Boy. Breakfast is almost ready and I do not want them to arrive after the food is cold"

"Is that all you need? If there's something else I can do just name it" Robin said with a pleading face. Starfire walked to him and caressed his cheek with the back of her hand.

"That is all I need for now. Thank you, Robin"

Robin did not know why but the last couple of weeks he have had a strange feeling about Starfire. He had a feeling of fear and insecurity that he had never felt before. He blamed Starfire's strange behavior in combat for his uneasiness but deep inside he knew there was more to his feeling of anxiety. Things were too good to be true. For the first time in a long time, having Starfire in front of him and her hand on his cheek he realized how afraid he was of losing her.

He grabbed her hand on his face with his opposite hand and kissed the back of her hand. Starfire blushed.

"I'll be back in a minute"

Starfire nodded and Robin left the main room to search for the two missing Titans. Robin remembered that Cyborg had said that he saw Raven coming out of the restroom and BB heading for it so he decided to search near it first. He was surprised to find BB and Raven talking halfway his path.

"Raven, Beast Boy, what is taking you so long? Starfire has made breakfast for all of us"

Raven and BB stared at Robin and then at each other. They seemed to be worried about something and since they had not been arguing when Robin arrive, he knew the matter was serious.

"What's wrong?"

"Robin, are you aware about what important date is coming in a week?"

Robin stared at both Titans and then at the roof, thinking about Raven's answer. BB and Raven stared at him, amazed that he did not remember such a relevant date for all of them. Robin could not recall any important date. There were no incoming birthdays.

"New Year?"

"_After_ New Year"

BB moved his gaze to the door in front of him. The room was not any of their rooms or the restroom. That door was the entrance to the Evidence Room; the room where all their important battling remaining were kept; the room where everything that was valuable for them was stored; the room where Red X's last essence of life was.

"Red X"

"Correct"

"_That's it!" Robin thought._ How could he have been so stupid? It was obvious that Starfire was remembering the past of the events of a year ago and she was having those feelings of guilt again, especially with Red X's death anniversary around the corner. Robin slapped himself mentally and turned his gaze to BB and Raven.

"Do you think this has anything to do with Star's acting?"

"Like, duh! She was devastated when X died. She's probably afraid that something similar or worse will happen that day!"

"But it's all over. She took care of Slade and I took care of…Red X. Do you think she actually…_hates_ me?"

All three Titans stared at each other and BB shrugged. He said he was hungry and that he did not want Starfire to be waiting anymore so he ran to the kitchen and left Raven to answer Robin's question. Robin saw BB disappear in the dark corner of the hall and brought his gaze back at Raven.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Does she hate me?"

"Why would she? For what I know, Red X pushed your buttons on purpose to free you from the bonding. I don't know what exactly he told you but it must have hurt for you to do what you did"

Robin had a quick flashback of what Red X had told him that made him explode in anger.

_-"Respect, Uhm? Me and her, under the same roof, alone. Things got very…interesting, you know what I mean"-Red X said_

_Robin's face showed anger. Red X was walking into dangerous territory._

_-"You're lying"-Robin said_

_-"Am I?"-Red X asked_

_-"Starfire would never allow anyone to touch her"-Robin answered_

_-"Who said she **allowed** me?"-Red X asked_

The idea of Starfire being inappropriately touched by a man disgusted Robin. Starfire represented all that was pure and good in the world for Robin. He did not like the idea of anyone taking advantage of his girl.

"Robin? Are you ok?" Robin had not realized that he had lost himself in his thoughts again. He was there wasting time while Starfire was waiting for him and Raven to arrive.

"He said he had…forced himself on her"

"Did he really do it?"

"No"

Raven realized how much Starfire meant to Robin. Red X's allegation, whether true or false, must have hurt Robin in places she did not want to imagine. She then understood why Robin could not control his anger and why he had done what he had.

"It seems that you don't believe me. Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"What? Are you crazy? You are suggesting that I go to her door and ask her if she hates me because I deliberately killed Red X?"

"Isn't that what you want to know?"

"Well, yes but I don't think this is the time to talk about that"

"Then when, Robin? I think this topic has been covered up for a long time now. Cyborg, Beast Boy and I have talked about it and are slowly getting it out of our system, but you and Starfire have not. You are the ones that suffered the most, but she was the one that suffer the most from the two of you. Have you offered her comfort? Have you actually sat down with her and asked her how she felt and how she still feels?"

Robin had no answer to that. He himself had been avoiding the topic for a long time now and even though he thought the Red X issue had died for good, it was again haunting him. When was all this drama going to be over?

"I don't think Starfire wants to talk about it yet"

"I think _she_ is but that _you_ are the one who _doesn't_ want to"

"You know why you guys are so freely talking about the subject? Want to know why? Because you were not as involved as Star, Red X and I were. You were no the one that had to make deals with the enemy to survive. You were not the one who thought that the love of your life was gone forever. You were not the one who was suffering from a Slade-given disease. You were not the one who had a price on your head. You were not the one who thought would die any second. You, were not the one…who _died_"

Raven knew that everything that Robin had said was true. But she also knew that there was still too much to talk about of that hurting experience that the Titans went through, regardless of the degree of involvement of each member.

"If this is the way _you_ feel about the whole subject, how do you think _Starfire_ feels?"

Robin froze and Raven knew by the look on his face that her words had struck deep. She knew she was being cruel to Robin but he was still a little bit clueless and he needed to react and truly be there for Starfire if he wanted her to get well. Raven knew that anything that had to deal with Starfire hurting would break Robin right on the spot. It was a low hit but someone had to take it and make it count.

"Isn't she waiting for us?"

Robin looked at Raven and was just able to whisper something unintelligible and nodded his head.

"Let's go then"-Raven said

Robin and Raven walked back to the main room where the rest of the Titans were waiting for them to eat. Starfire had not allowed BB or Cyborg to eat until Raven and Robin arrived.

"Pleeease Star…I'm starving"-BB begged

"I am afraid we are not able to eat until our friends arrive"

"There they are! Now to eat!"- Cyborg yelled

BB and Cyborg did not waste any more time and began eating. Starfire smiled at the incoming Titans and told them what she had cook for them. Raven sat next to Cyborg and Robin sat next to Starfire.

"Would you like any syrup, Robin?"-Starfire asked

Robin grinned and grabbed the syrup from her hands.

"Would _you_ like any syrup, Star?"

"Yes, I would. Thank you"

Robin cautiously poured syrup on Starfire's pancakes and he then proceeded to pour the sticky liquid on his pancakes. The rest of the meal went as usual. BB and Cyborg competed to see which one of them was faster while Raven rolled her eyes and pointed out how immature they were. On the other hand, Robin and Starfire talked about irrelevant subjects until the end of the meal was almost near. Starfire asked Robin when was the best time to tell the other Titans about her leaving the team.

"News like that has no best time. We might as well tell them now". Starfire nodded but seemed uncomfortable about it. Robin decided to make the job easier for her and assume his responsibility as a leader and tell them himself.

"I can inform them if you want"

"I do not think I will be able to utter the words myself"

"I've got you back"

Robin looked at the Titans and saw them arguing. He wondered if there was a time when they actually got tired of yelling and calling names at each other. There was probably no such time either.

"Titans, I have an announcement to make. It is very important so…" Robin tried to continue but BB and Cyborg's screaming would not stop. "I would really appreciate if you…" Again, no attention was given to the fearless leader. Robin got upset. He stood up and walked behind BB and Cyborg and separated their faces with both of his hands. "Stop it, now!"

"But he started it!"-BB said

"I said shut-up"

"Ok" both Titans said and covered their mouths with their hands. They knew better than to get Robin pissed at them. He would probably send them to train for days with no rest.

"What is it?"-Raven asked

"Starfire and I talked last night about the events that have been occurring with her and we have decided…"

"You guys are getting married!"-BB asked

BB and Cyborg did not wait for an answer and jumped to either side of Starfire and Robin.

"When's the wedding? Can I be your Best man?"-Cyborg asked

"Hey! Why do _you _get to be Best man?"-BB asked

In a matter of seconds, BB and Cyborg were arguing again. Robin was now pissed, yet he did not have to act this time. Raven took care of the kids. She used her powers and pulled both Titans back into their seats and covered their mouths and restrained their arms and legs.

"You were saying"

"Thanks Raven. I'll deal with you guys later"-Robin said

BB and Cyborg groaned.

"Given Starfire's _special_ behavior during battle and the consequences it has caused, I have decided that Starfire will no longer take part in the crime fighting component of the team"

BB and Cyborg mumbled furiously and Raven was glad that she was using her magic to restrain them. They were not easy to shut up, however, Robin gave Raven a sign to allow them talk freely.

"What? You can't do that! She's a Titan and she deserves to be in the team!"-BB said

"Yeah, man…what gives? It's not like she is a threat or anything"-Cyborg said

"Robin's right. It is best for all of us that she stays at the Tower and relaxes"-Raven said

"Are you kidding me, Raven?"-BB asked

"No, I'm not. Have you forgotten what happened to you the other time?"

Starfire could feel the heat going up to her cheeks. She knew what Raven meant by her statement. She remembered perfectly when, in one of her outrages, she almost got BB killed.

"Raven, I don't think it is necessary to bring out details. This decision is difficult as it is already"-Robin said

"I am just refreshing everybody's mind, what is…" Raven started but was cut off when Robin stood up again.

"I said that was enough. I don't want Starfire to be under more stress than she already is. And that goes for the rest of you. Do I make myself clear?"

They all nodded.

"Are you ok with this, Star?"-BB asked

Starfire looked at BB and saw the disappointment in his eyes. Even thought he was categorized as the funny member of the Titans, he was never shy about expressing how he felt, even if some expressions made him look "weak". All of them knew that BB was everything but weak, he had proved it many times in the past.

"Robin gave me the option of declining the offering, but I have decided to take it. I know that there is something terrible wrong with me and I desire to fix it. Even if it means to leave the team for a while"

"So, are you gonna leave the Tower?"-Cyborg asked

"I shall not. Robin has offered me to stay here as long as I take care of myself"

"Then, it _is_ gonna happen? You won't fight with us anymore?"-BB asked

"No, she won't and if any of you give her a hard time about it…" Robin said and decided to not finish his sentence. If he did not calm down, he would be the one to need more medical assistance than Starfire.

"Now that that's settled, we need to move onto other things. Cyborg, check and re-check our equipment and security at the Tower. With one member short we need to improve our guarding and fighting devices. Beast Boy, make sure you clean this place and wash the dishes, I don't want to see Starfire washing them for you. Starfire, go to your room and get changed, we are going to see a doctor. And Raven, you follow me to the Evidence Room, we need to talk"

Starfire immediately flew away from the living room and went straight to her room to follow Robin's orders. BB began cleaning the table and got ready to wash the dishes. Cyborg stood up and laughed at BB behind Robin's back. Robin and Raven arrived to the door and walked out but before the door closed, Robin gave one last command.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. You have to train all next week without rest as punishment. Got it?"

"Aw, man! That ain't fair"-BB mumbled

"Want to make it _two_ weeks?"-Robin asked

BB shocked his head and Robin and Raven finally left the room. They made their way to the Evidence Room and once inside, Robin locked the door.

"Look, if you're mad about what I said to Starfire and you are going to punish me by making me rearrange the furniture here, it's not going to work"

"I wasn't going to ask you to do _that_ but now that you mentioned it"

"Oh, _crap_"

"You can clean this place while you are at the real task I have for you"

"What is that?" Raven asked. Robin walked towards a big clear glass case that was on the corner of the room. That glass contained no regular object. The container held the remaining of Red X's clothes. Raven had not idea why Robin was pointing at that particular case. She then recalled the talk they have had just moments ago.

"_Maybe he wants me to get rid of it"_

Raven looked at Robin like if he was a coward and Robin looked questionably at her.

"I don't know what you're thinking Raven, but erase that thought from your mind. I want you to examine Red X's clothes in the lab, see if you find anything that can help us get Red X back"

Raven could not believe what she had just heard. Did Robin really say that he wanted to bring Red X back? What for? Was she listening correctly?

"What are you talking about? Are you crazy? What do you want Red X for? To be bonded to him again? To see him die again?"

"No, Raven. We might need his help. He wasn't supposed to die, you know? Besides, if we are able to bring him back, we might be able to alter his genetic code and break the bond and the dieing-after-one-year issue once and for all"

Raven could not understand why Robin was thinking like this. Maybe Robin did need medical attention after all.

"Who do you think you are? Some sort of God? You can't play with the lives of people like this!" Raven yelled. Robin's calmed face was gone and his face was now full of anger. Why could Raven not understand?

"Don't you get it, Raven? I owe my life to this man! I killed this man when he never deserved it! He deserves to live, just like the rest of us and if we can give him that, we won't be as much as in debt as we are with him right now"

"Why are you asking _me_ to do this?"

"Because BB doesn't know science, Cyborg has to worry about tons of things already and Starfire is not up to this, neither mentally nor emotionally. And I promised Starfire that I would be with her every step of the way, and this time I am not letting her down"

Raven looked at Robin and for the first time, she knew that Robin was ready for what he was setting himself in to. Robin was growing; he was becoming a real man. He should have also changed his green tights by now, that would be a plus.

"Let say I do this and it works. What will happen with Starfire? How would we tell her? And what if Red X starts giving her all those obvious signs of love again? Can you take the risk?"

Robin smiled and put a hand on Raven's shoulder. He knew this question was coming.

"You think I haven't thought about all that? But after all this time, I realized that I don't have to worry about it. Starfire never wanted Red X to die so she might be a little bit surprised at first but it'll wear off. I doubt that Red X gives her signs of any kind anymore and even if he did, I would not worry about it. Starfire doesn't need anybody else's caring. I give her everything that she needs and more. I trust her and I won't make the same mistakes of the past"

Raven sighed in defeat and nodded in agreement. This crazy idea of Robin's was actually going to happen.

"I guess you don't want the others to find out what I would be doing, right?"

Robin smiled. "See? This is exactly why I knew you would be the best person for the job."

"That and the fact that everybody else is already busy" Raven said in her already known sarcastic way. Robin could not help to grin. "Yeah, that too"

"I'll get started"

"Do your best Raven"

"Always"

Robin left the Evidence Room and Raven stared at Red X's costume.

"_I hope you aren't burning or this would be one hell of a comeback"_

Robin went to his room and changed as fast as he could. He looked at himself for the last time. He was in regular clothes, out of his uniform….almost, the mask stayed. He was wearing a black polo shirt with a black jacket, blue jeans and tennis shoes. Robin sighed and walked outside his room and made his way to Starfire's room. He stood at the door and knocked.

"Star, it's me. Can I come in?"

Starfire responded immediately and Robin opened the door. He walked in and looked at the always perfectly neat room and saw Starfire sitting on the bed. She was wearing dark blue jeans, a pink turtleneck sweater, and pink tennis shoes. There was a blue jacket on the pillow next to her. She was holding something in her hands that Robin could not see. He walked towards the bed and sat on it, next to her. Now, sitting next to her, Robin saw the object that Starfire held in her hand. It was Red X's communicator.

"Starfire, maybe you should give me that communicator until you are feeling better" Robin said and Starfire's only reply was to hold it even tighter.

"Look, Star. It has almost been a year since he left us and still you blame yourself for what happened and I don't like to see you like this. You shouldn't feel guilty for the situation. It was not in your hands, there was nothing you could have done. There was nothing none of us could have done back then, but now we might be able to do something for him"

Starfire turned her head to face Robin. What was he talking about? Red X was dead and nothing remained of him but his uniform and the communicator she held.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we could do what he wanted us to do. He wanted for us to be together and happy. The first part is already accomplished because, since that day, we have not let each other's side ever. But, the second part is not that clear. We are together Star and I enjoy every second of it but I think you don't. Am I…_not _making you happy?" Robin asked the question that had been in his mind for so long and only now was he able to utter. He wanted to know what he was doing wrong. He did not want to loose her ever again.

Starfire seemed shocked to hear Robin's question. Without releasing the communicator she threw herself at him and hugged him with all her might. She felt responsible for Robin's doubts. There was no reason for him to feel insecure, for she loved him much more than any of her actions could explain. Robin hugged her back by putting his arms around her waist.

"Robin, I do not wish for you to feel this way. You have done so many great things for me, things that you did not even had to do. You make me happy and I do not want for you to have such unreasonable thoughts in your mind"

"But?" Robin asked, knowing that as good as the first part of her answer sounded; there is always a counterpart for everything. Neither of them broke the hug. Robin waited for Starfire to continue talking and she did.

"But there are still some things that I need to figure out, by myself. During that horrible period of our lives, I went through situations that you cannot imagine and some that you are still unaware of. You did not spend as much time as I did with Red X. I lost a great friend, we all did, whether we agreed or not"

Robin knew that Starfire loved him but he still hurt whenever she talked about Red X. She tried not to talk about Red X with Robin that much but the times she did, she referred to him as a person with a great mind, a great soul and a much greater heart. Starfire knew that Robin felt jealous every time she talked about his "clone" and she wished it was not that way. She wanted to be able to make him see her side of the story without feeling that she was tearing Robin's heart in many small pieces. She had not found the way to accomplish this, though.

Robin knew that Starfire was holding back because of him. He wanted her to be freed from the shadows of the past she was carrying; which meant that sacrifices had to be made.

The first one had to be made by him.

Robin pushed Starfire until she rested her back on the bed. He then supported himself with his left hand and with his right hand he carefully peeled off his mask from his face. Starfire had seen Robin without his mask several times now but still she could not help to be amazed by his eyes everytime she did. After peeling his mask, robin threw it on the floor and caressed Starfire's cheek with the back of his hand. Starfire responded by cupping his face with her hands.

"Starfire, I want to know everything that happened when you lived with Red X"

Starfire's eyes began to get covered by tears. How could he do this do her. How could she lie to him when his eyes were fixed on hers? It was easier to twist some situations or leave important details out of her stories about Red X when Robin was wearing his mask because she was not able to see if he believed her or not. But now, his eyes pleaded that she was honest with him, regardless of what she had to say. This time it had to be truth and nothing _but_ the truth.

"Robin, I do not wish to see you like this"

"Then tell me everything. Everytime you leave a detail out or you prefer to not talk about it I can't help to imagine the things you didn't want to tell me and you wouldn't like what my sick mind imagines. I trust you and I want you to trust me. I want to know everything…even if you…loved him…or still do" Robin said this last sentence in long pauses. The idea of Starfire falling in love with Rex or being in love with Red X scared the hell out of him. If she did feel something for him, it would be bad but not as much because it was in the past. But what if she still loved him? What answer could Robin have for it?

"I loved him…" Starfire said and closed her eyes while Robin's heart sank. He was going to reply something that not even he knew what it was when she spoke again. "But not in the way he wanted me to. I loved him as a friend, but nothing more than that. The way he felt for me is the way I felt for you"

"Felt?" Robin managed to ask.

"Felt, because now I feel for you more than ever. You have done a great job winning my heart even more, Robin. My heart belongs to you and to you only" Starfire concluded.

"_Should I believe her?"_

Starfire saw that Robin did not seem convinced. If her words were not believable, then her actions would have to do. She lifted her head, still cupping Robin's face and kissed him. She was slow at first, giving Robin time to come out of his trance and react. Her eyes were closed but his were open. He did not know whether to kiss her back or not. What was stopping him? After a couple of seconds Starfire stopped kissing him and pulled back. Her face showed how hurt she was about Robin's lack of response.

She hugged herself with her arms and turned her head to the side. She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that had rapidly formed in her eyes.

"I never loved him, Robin"-Starfire whispered

"You went out on a date with him"

"Because I knew he was going to _die_" Robin's anger that had began rising had suddenly stopped. "You were always in my mind. I was always missing you. You have always been the _only_ one in my heart" Starfire said and did not allow Robin to do or so anything. She got out from under Robin and stood up. She put her jacket on and picked Robin's mask up.

Robin sat down on the bed and looked at her face. She was not angry but she was not smiling. She extended her arm to give back the mask to Robin. He looked at it before reluctantly grabbing it and placing it back on his face. He had lost it, again. He now craved for that kiss that she had gave him. He now wanted to kiss her back. Maybe it was not that late.

"I'm sorry" Robin said, truly feeling sorry for what he _had_ and _had not_ done.

"I am sorry too. Shall we leave now? I do not wish to take long in finding a doctor. I have things to do here"

Robin did not know what Starfire meant by being sorry too. Yet, he did not feel he wanted to ask now. He then thought about Starfire's second answer.

"What do you have to do? Can I help you?"

Starfire looked at Robin like saying 'Are you kidding me?' and Robin stood up to face her.

"I shall prepare a small tribute to the anniversary of Red X's death. I do not think you can help me if you _never_ _liked_ him"

"_He never liked me either"-Robin thought_

With that, Starfire turned around and headed for the door. Robin cursed under his breath and followed her. In a few minutes, both Titans were on the R-Cycle and on their way downtown. Starfire did not talk at all and only answered "Yes" or "No" to questions Robin asked. After a while he decided to stop trying to make conversation and drove faster. This had to make Starfire hold on to him even tighter whether she wanted it or not.

"_I hope Raven finds a way to bring this guy back to clear this damned mess up"_

Meanwhile, back at the Tower, Cyborg and BB did as told. BB had finally finished cleaning the kitchen and had begun helping Cyborg with the repairs and checking of the Tower's security system. Cyborg had taken extreme precaution in installing and configurating the security system since Slade had sent his army of henchmen when Terra hacked the Tower's system. Nevertheless, a double checking of the security did not hurt them at all.

Cyborg connected a portable computer to the mainframe of the Tower and was checking the alarms for flaws and, at the same time, updated the software and changed the passwords. He knew this was a tedious and time-consuming job and that it would probably take him a week or so to secure the entire Tower and check all the gadgets and equipments they had. However, Cyborg also knew that Robin was right. Being one Titan down, and not just any Titan but probably the strongest Titan the team had, they had to be more alert than ever.

BB sat next to Cyborg, trying to read the incredible amount of information that the computer displayed and tried to read what Cyborg was typing but it was too fast for BB's eyes to grasp. He decided to sit next to him and just help when asked for; it was better this way.

"So…Cyborg. What do you think about Star's vacation and all?"

Cyborg did not stop typing and just looked at BB from the corner of his human eye. He thought for several seconds before giving BB an answer.

"I think it's best for her to chill out. Get some help, ya know? Besides, this also helps Robin relax. If Starfire is ok then Robin is ok and if both of them are ok then we are ok as well. Win-win, don't you think? " Cyborg said without stopping his typing.

"I guess you are right. Still, it'll be weird _without_ Star and I feel there's nothing we _can_ do to help her out" BB said while he crossed his arms and pouted.

"You can start by not telling us jokes"

"Hey! She likes my jokes!"

"Sure" Cyborg said and grinned. "Anyway, we can all begin by making her feel wanted, you know. Don't let her believe that we don't like her or that we don't miss her. Make sure that she understands that we want her to get well so she can fight with us again…someday."

BB nodded. Cyborg was right. None of the Titans were doctors and were not able to help Starfire in a medical kind of way but they were her friends and could offer her the moral support and human side that the doctors sometimes lacked. She was not alone in this; they were all in it with her.

"Where's Raven?"-BB asked

"She left with Robin, remember?"-Cyborg answered

"And where's Robin?"-BB asked

Cyborg shrugged and BB pulled his T-Com out. He searched for Robin's signal and it indicated that Robin and Starfire were downtown Jump City. Raven was still at the Tower, somewhere.

"Cy, since you don't need me here I'll go look for Raven. I haven't bothered her that much today; she might miss it by now"

Cyborg smiled. He knew that BB preferred to be smacked or insulted by Raven than sit around with him doing nothing.

"Ok, B"

BB stood up and left the main room. Cyborg was left alone to work on his assigned job. He wanted to finish as much as he could to have a full report of the Tower's security status for Robin when he came back.

Downtown, Robin and Starfire arrived to Jump City's medical hospital. Robin parked his R-Cycle and took off his helmet. He then turned back and saw Starfire taking her helmet off as well. He wondered if she still was upset with him. She had no expression at all on her face.

"Are you ready, Star?"  
"I believe I am"

They both got off the R-Cycle and were received by questioning looks of the people waiting in the main lobby. People wondered what two of the Titans, particularly the "couple", were doing at a hospital by themselves and off their uniforms. Of course, people thought the worse. Robin felt the glances and stared back and saw that Starfire, who had noticed the looks as well, was beginning to feel uncomfortable. It was no secret to anyone that Starfire and Robin were an "item" for a long time now but still some people disproportioned the fact and this made them feel uneasy when seen alone together in public. It was something that they just could not get used to.

Robin grabbed Starfire's hand and led her to the reception desk. The receptionist also gave them an intrigued look. Starfire's hand tensed. Robin was the one who spoke on her behalf.

"Hi, my name is…" Robin stopped mid-sentence feeling stupid for his comment. Of course they knew who he was and who she was. The question in the receptionist mind was what were they there for?

"We would like to see a specific doctor…" Robin began but was interrupted by the receptionist.

"Maternity is on the third floor"

Starfire's eyes opened wide and Robin made a frown. He hated the fact that most of the people jumped into conclusions. Just because they were dating and lived under the same roof, unsupervised, did not mean that Robin had laid a hand on Starfire. He respected her as much as he loved her and had never touched her in a "taking advantage" kind of way. Robin's hand was the one tensing now.

"We are looking for a psychologist. Where can we find one?"

"Fifth floor, two floors after maternity"

Robin's response was to grab Starfire by her waist and without thanking the receptionist, they both walked toward the elevator. The doors opened and people inside started at them. When was the staring going to end? The elevator began its way upward and the person next to the buttons stopped the elevator on the third floor: Maternity.

The doors opened and everyone inside the elevator turned to see the couple, waiting for them to get out of the elevator on that specific floor. Robin finally spoke.

"If no one is getting out here you are just making us waste our time. We are on our way to the fifth floor" Robin said while going in between the people and pushing the button with the number "5" on it.

Regardless of the implied "comments" that people had, Starfire was glad to hear some part of Robin's response to them. Robin had began to use the term "we" when referring to him or her, just a couple of months ago. She loved the way how he would take her problems and make them his and she was more than welcomed to grab his problems and make them hers, as well.

Relieved that the elevator finally arrived at the fifth floor, Robin and Starfire walked out and made their way to the front desk. Luckily, this receptionist was not questioning their presence.

"Hi, we would like to make an appointment with the best psychologist you have here" Robin stated while looking down at the receptionist across the counter and without letting go of Starfire's hand. Starfire felt relieved that Robin was there with her right now. She did not think she would have been able to get passed the staring and the whispering of people. She was also glad that their little dispute a while ago had not angered Robin to the point of leaving her on her own; not that Robin would ever do that on purpose.

"Dr. Jones can assist you, fill out this application and I'll be right with you"-The receptionist said

Robin grabbed a pen from the counter and began filling out the application while Starfire looked at him. He answered some questions quite fast but he had to think about others. Starfire trusted that Robin would not write any information that would compromise them in any way. Robin finished filling out the application and gave it back to the receptionist. She took one quick glance at it and asked the Titans to take a seat and wait a couple of minutes before Dr. Jones could assist them. Robin and Starfire did as told.

Robin had not let go of Starfire's hand and Starfire used her other hand and place it over Robin's hand. She then rested her head on his shoulder. He replied by resting his head on hers.

"Robin?"

"Uhm?"

"I wish to apologize for the events that took place earlier"

Robin lifted his head from hers and lifted her head by her chin using his other hand. "You didn't do anything wrong. I acted selfishly, can you forgive me?"

Starfire smiled and Robin smiled back. She felt her worries melted by looking at his smile. He was happy, she was happy, they were happy and that was all that mattered.

"I do not wish to see the doctor by myself. You will go inside with me, yes?" Starfire asked with a pleading look on her face.

"You don't even have to ask"

Starfire closed her eyes and hugged Robin from the side. Robin placed his arm on one of hers and caressed her hair with the other. At that exact moment the receptionist called them. Both Titans turned at the same time that the receptionist stood up.

"Dr. Jones is ready to see you. Miss Starfire, please follow me to his room"

"_**His** room?"-Robin thought_

Robin did not like the idea of Starfire being alone with an old guy she did not know and, apparently, Starfire did not either. Robin made a frown and Starfire held even tighter to Robin's left arm as a 5-year old that does not want to leave her parent's side.

"Is it possible that I go in with her?"-Robin asked

"I'm sorry but visitors are only allowed when the doctor requires them"

Suddenly, the door opened and a tall, handsome man walked out. He had brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white coat above his navy shirt and his black pants and shoes.

"What's wrong Dora?"

The receptionist turned to face the doctor and then faced the Titans. The doctor followed her gaze until he reached the visitors. He smiled.

"Good afternoon, my name is Dr. Jones. It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Titans"

Robin and Starfire gazed at each other and then at the doctor's extended arm. Robin reacted and accepted Dr. Jones handshake.

"Thanks. Are you the best psychologist here?"-Robin asked

"I don't like to brag but that's what people say. I guess Starfire will be able to tell after this session. Is it ok if I call you by your name?" Dr. Jones asked with a big smile on his face.

Starfire nodded and the receptionist gave the doctor the application Robin had filled out before going back to her desk. Neither of the Titans had moved yet.

"Shall we begin the session?" The doctor asked while extending his arm sideways, showing the entrance to Starfire. Starfire lifted her head and whispered something in Robin's hears.

"I will"-Robin answered

With that, Starfire reluctantly let go of Robin's protective embrace and saw his saddened face disappear behind the closed door of Dr. Jones office. She missed Robin already. He was afraid for her already, as well. Dr. Jones sat on his chair behind his desk and asked Starfire to sit on the chair in front of him by extending his arm towards her. Starfire sat.

"Well, Starfire, it is quite a surprise to have you here. How may I be of assistance?"

Starfire looked at him and then moved her gaze towards the desk. She deeply sighed and rubbed her hands together to ease up her anxiety. Dr. Jones waited for an answer but seeing that Starfire just would not open up to him, he decided to speak first.

"My name is Robert Jones; I graduated from college a long time ago. I am 30 years old, live by myself and I am incredible afraid of spiders"

Starfire stared at him, eyes wide open. She then reviewed his comment in her mind and began giggling at the last part he had said. Dr. Jones smiled at her as well.

"Spiders are quite a threat Dr. Jones. You are allowed to be afraid of them"

"We are all afraid of something. What are you afraid of Starfire?"

Starfire realized that this man was good at what he did. She had gone inside with the idea of not giving much information to this unknown person but he had caught her attention with a simple sentence. She thought about her answer for a while. This time the doctor waited for her answer.

"I am afraid of losing what I love the most"

"That's normal. Everyone is afraid of losing what is treasured the most. It's human to care about something or someone and feel scared about losing it"

Starfire nodded and her shoulders relaxed. Maybe this doctor was not going to be as bad as she thought. Maybe Robin was right in deciding to seek for professional help.

"I'm also afraid of nightmares"-Starfire said

"Nightmares are scary things, indeed. What kind of nightmares have you had?"-Dr. Jones asked

Starfire did not like to talk about her nightmares with anyone. She did not want her friends to think she was going crazy and she did not want Robin to worry about her. However, keeping her dreams to herself was making her vulnerable. She had to let it all out and this was her opportunity.

"I dream about a horrid man. A man who caused much pain to me and my friends"-Starfire answered

"Is this man an enemy of yours?"-Dr. Jones asked

"Yes"-Starfire answered

"What does he do in your dreams?"-Dr. Jones asked

"For you to understand my dreams you must know what happened in the past, the past from two years ago. It is a very long story"-Starfire said

"Two years? Are you saying that you have been having nightmares for two years?"-Dr. Jones asked

"Not really. My nightmares started six months ago. They were random at first but they became consistent three months ago"-Starfire answered

"I see. I like stories. Mind telling me everything that happened from the beginning? You don't have to tell me everything today; you can take your time. However, details are important. They help me determined what is going on in our life and they also help me find a way to make you feel better"-Dr. Jones said

Starfire still had her doubts about telling the doctor all that had happened before. She had not have the courage to discuss about the topic with Robin, whom she knew for a long time now, and now she had to talk about it with a stranger. At least this stranger would not jump up and down when she mentioned Red X.

"I must say that this is the first time I talk about this with someone"-Starfire said

"I suppose the rest of the Titans know the story as well as you do"-Dr. Jones said

"Not necessarily, we all lived that part of our lived differently. It affected us in different ways, some more than others. Perhaps you will understand what I mean when you listen to the story"-Starfire said

"I am all ears, Starfire"-Dr. Jones said

"Alright"-Starfire said

Starfire began her story about Red X from day one. Dr. Jones listened attentively, stopping Starfire some times during her talking to ask more specific questions. He was surprised about the kind of life the Titans had to go through. He was more surprised of the kind of life these _teenagers _had to go through. Starfire had been 16 when it all started and here she was, 2 years later, letting it all out. Starfire needed a lot of support and he was willing to offer it her as he could not believe that someone so young could have been hurt this much.

Meanwhile, Robin waited impatiently outside the doctor's office. An hour had passed already and he was worried about what Starfire was doing inside. He knew he had to do something to keep himself from going crazy. He got his T-Com out of this pocket and contacted Raven.

"What's wrong, Robin?"-Raven asked

"Nothing, I just want to know how is your task going"-Robin answered

There was a brief moment of silence and Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Starfire hasn't come out of the appointment yet?"-Raven asked

"No"-Robin answered

Another moment of silence appeared.

"I see. Well, I am almost done examining his clothes. Results don't look good but I'll have the full report when you come back"

"Great" Robin said while he deeply sighed.

"She'll be alright. She's a big girl"-Raven said

"I know, but I still can't help to worry about her"-Robin said

"Don't worry too much, she might get even more worried thinking that you are worried for her being worried"-Raven said

Robin could not help to grin at Raven's last sentence.

"That's a lot of worries"-Robin said

Raven smirked. At that moment, the door opened and Starfire and Dr. Jones came out of the office. Robin closed the T-Com and stood up.

"I trust Robin will bring you back in a week?"-Dr. Jones asked

Starfire turned her head and saw Robin. He had a face of perplexity that he could not hide.

"I am sure that Robin will make sure I do not miss any appointment"-Starfire answered

"Well, I shall see you in a week, then. Meanwhile, remember what I told you. Relax, ok?"-Dr. Jones said

"I will. Goodbye"-Starfire said

"Goodbye"-Dr. Jones said

Starfire walked towards Robin and he grabbed her by her shoulders. Dr Jones walked back to his office and the receptionist walked inside behind him.

"Are you ok? What did he do to you? Are you hurting? What did he tell you? Are you feeling better? Is there anything I can do for you?"-Robin asked

Starfire chuckled at Robin's questioning and placed her hands on his waist.

"I am ok. He heard the beginning of the story of two years ago. I am not hurting at all. He gave me some guidelines to follow from now on. I am feeling better. You can stop worrying so much"-Starfire answered.

Robin grabbed her hand and caressed it with his other hand. He allowed himself to breathe and calm down.

"May we go home now?"-Starfire asked

"Sure, let's go"-Robin answered

Robin and Starfire left the office and then the hospital hand in hand. They got on his R-Cycle and made their way back to the Tower. Cyborg was already finishing the reconfiguration of the Tower when Robin and Starfire arrived at the living room.

"Yo, guys! How did it go?"-Cyborg asked

"It was quite a pleasant experience"-Starfire answered

"I thought you guys had gone to the hospital"-Cyborg joked

"We did, stop it"-Robin said

"Ok, ok"-Cyborg said

Starfire sighed and left Robin's side. She walked to the mini refrigerator and got herself a glass of cold water. Robin and Cyborg talked about what changes he had done to the Tower's Security system, not something that Starfire was interested at the moment. Starfire rested her hip on the counter and stared at the empty glass as she twirled it. Her gaze moved from the glass to Robin and Cyborg and back to the glass. Suddenly, Robin and Cyborg's voices began to fade out, as she was tuning them out for some reason. She began to have a feeling of uneasiness that she did not like and had not felt in a long time. The same feeling she had when Slade was near her. The same feeling she had when she was about to die in Slade's hands. She felt her chest hurting and her heartbeat accelerating and all she could concentrate on was the clear empty glass. It reflected a distorted image of her face, an image that scared her.

"_Robin"-Starfire thought_

Starfire felt a cold breeze coming from behind her and it made her shiver. She did not know what was happening to her but she did know it was not good at all. She wanted to scream for help but her voice had disappeared.

"_Help, Robin!"-Starfire thought_

Starfire felt a presence behind her, as if someone was standing right behind, breathing on her ear. She gasped when she felt the hot air coming from someone's mouth.

"_I will kill your friends. I will kill Robin"_

Starfire froze. That voice. It was Slade.

"_I will kill Robin"_

Starfire tried to speak but was not able to do so. Was Slade truly behind her? How could it be? She took all her will to slowly turn back. Her breathing getting faster with every degree her head turned; the hot breath still behind her ear. She closed her eyes and turned her head completely. She did not want to open her eyes but she had to. Maybe Slade was alive and was inside the Tower willing to kill Robin. She had to stop him even if she was terrified of him. Starfire took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes.

There was no one there.

She then let a breath of relief out and felt her tense shoulders relax. She then turned her head back, looking at floor. She lifted her head…and saw Slade in front of her.

Starfire's eyes opened wide and she felt all of her energy being drained by the surprise. Her whole body trembled and the glass hit the floor, breaking. It was then that Slade jumped towards her and grabbed her arms.

"_You think you are safe but you are not. He can't protect you"_

Starfire wanted to release herself from his grip but she could not. However, her voice was back.

"Let me go! Robin!"-Starfire screamed

No response.

"_You are supposed to be dead. I will take care of that"_

"No!"-Starfire screamed

Starfire felt an urge to attack him but was not allowing her to move. She had to think of something, something to set herself free. Where was Robin when she needed him? She had to protect herself because only she cared of her well-being. Starfire closed her eyes and felt them charging. Suddenly she opened her eyes and blast of green pushed Slade away from her. Slade ended on the floor a few feet away from her.

Everything was going to be ok now. She only had to get away from him as fast as she could. Everything would turn out to be alright. Everything should be ok but it was not. Slade was gone and the person on the floor was not Slade, but Robin.

"Robin?"-Starfire said

Cyborg was on the floor checking on Robin's vitals. Starfire had blasted Robin from a very close range with a big amount of energy. Slade was never there.

Starfire ran to Robin and sat next to him. She grabbed his hand and began calling his name. He did not respond.

"What happened, girl? Why did you attack him?"-Cyborg asked

"I do not know. I-i-t was not him. It was s-s-omeone else"-Starfire answered

"What? He saw you were gasping and he ran to you to help you. He thought you were choking"-Cyborg said

"I was not, I saw…someone that was _not_ him"-Starfire said

"Maybe you were…daydreaming"-Cyborg said

"Is Robin ok?" Starfire asked avoiding Cyborg's questioning look. He must think she is crazy and maybe she was. Yet, this did not matter at the moment. The most important thing right now was Robin. She had hurt Robin, unintentionally but she had nonetheless. Starfire tried to wake Robin up but he did not respond. Cyborg told Starfire that it would be better for Robin to be on his bed in his room.

"He is tough. He just needs some rest and maybe you do too"-Cyborg said

Starfire knew what Cyborg truly meant by the _"you too"_. He probably thought that she was under the influence of some pills that perhaps the doctor had made her take but she knew this was not true. She was fine, or at least that is what she thought until she saw Slade. She knew felt what Robin did when Slade messed with his head and no one else saw him but Robin.

"I shall make sure he arrives to his room. I will take him to his quarters" –Starfire said

Cyborg looked at her with an uneasy gaze. She knew he did not think that her idea was the best option at the moment, given that the reason that Robin was down was because _she_ had blasted him, full force, with her eye beams. Cyborg did not think he was safe with her but he did not have the heart to tell her straight out; not after seeing her pleading and concerned friend. Cyborg knew Starfire would never hurt Robin willingly. He had to let it go this time but he would make sure to keep an eye on her around him.

"I forget you have super force, do you mind if I walk with you?"-Cyborg asked

Starfire began carefully lifting Robin while Robin stood up as well, helping her out. Starfire nodded to thank him and to answer his question.

"Maybe I should carry him, it looks weird that the lady carries the guy and not the other way around"-Cyborg tried to joke

Starfire knew that earthlings had some kind of manly ideas that everyone seemed to accept. In Tamaran, men and women were actually treated equally. Seeing a "girl" carrying the "guy" was not seen as unusual on her home planet. In some other occasion she would have probably accepted Cyborg's offering but it did not feel quite right this time. She declined the offer.

Cyborg and Starfire –carrying Robin- walked outside the living room and made their way to Robin's room. The travel towards his room was rather awkward as no words were truly spoken. However, Starfire and Cyborg could read their faces and their actions, knowing that something was not right and that they both knew it, regardless if they wanted to talk about it or not. Finally, they arrived to his room.

"I thank you for you company. I shall take it from here"-Starfire said

"Ok, if you need anything just let me know" K?"-Cyborg asked

"I will if I must" was Starfire's reply. Cyborg knew what it really meant. She wanted to be alone with Robin when he woke up. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened, whatever it had been, by herself. He was glad he did not have to be there when Robin woke up, yet he would be close by in case he was needed.

Starfire opened Robin's door and with a smile directed at Cyborg she closed the door. Cyborg stared at the closed door for a second and then began walking towards the end of the hall. He raised his right arm and activated his T-Com. He needed to talk to someone about what had happened moments ago in the living room before going back to clean the broken glass mess.

"Raven, do you have a second? I have something important to tell you"-Cyborg said

Raven's response was to tell him to meet at the training room. She did not want Cyborg to find out what she was doing in the Evidence Room, not just yet. Cyborg made his way down to the training room where Raven already waited for him.

On the other side of the Tower, Starfire had placed Robin on his bed. She carefully took his shoes and his cape off. She examined him to make sure he did not have any burns or other visible marks. He did not. She made a mental note to herself that she would seek Raven's assistance on healing any hidden bruises that Robin might have. Starfire sat on Robin's bed, next to him. She slowly combed his hair with his fingers several times before deciding to leave his side and sat on a chair on the other side of the bed. She thought it was better for the both of them to wait and see Robin's reaction when he woke and then make her move.

Starfire began thinking about what had happened before and could not think of a logical explanation to give to Robin. How was she supposed to make Robin understand what had happened if even she did not have a clue of why she had seen what she did? She would have to talk to Dr. Jones about what happened to her. He had been such a nice person with her. In the whole time she had been there, talking to him, telling him how life had treated her, never did he criticize her, laughed at her, judged her and, most importantly, he never _blamed_ her.

She remembered that Jones told her that she had being quite a strong person when managing these situations at such a young age and that she should be proud of what she had accomplished. She had believed it until minutes ago when she had attacked Robin for no true reason. She rubbed her temples with her fingers and then flinched when she rubbed her forehead. She had forgotten about her bruise. She then had a flashback of earlier today at the hospital.

"_I see you are very fond of Robin. Are you dating?"-Dr. Jones asked_

_Starfire smiled and put her hair behind her ear. She was not embarrassed of Robin and her dating, but for some reason, this question coming from the doctor made her feel uneasy._

"_We have been 'dating' for a year now. It has been quite an adventure"-Starfire answered_

"_It is amazing that you guys are where you are right not, given the past consequences. I admire you, I wish I had that kind of deep connection with someone else"-Jones said_

_Starfire briefly recalled in seconds some of the situation they had gone through to get together as they now were. Jones was right, it was amazing that they were together. Starfire then felt the gaze coming from Jones. He was staring at her for some yet unknown reason to her. _

"_Do you superheroes get hurt a lot?"-Jones asked_

"_I beg you pardon?"-Starfire asked_

_Jones chuckled and bent over his desk to get a closer look to Starfire's face, trying to make his point clear with actions instead of words._

"_What I meant was if you get physically hurt in battler that often"-Jones said_

_Starfire then realized that he had seen her bump when she moved her hair. She was trying to hide it from the world, or maybe just from him._

"_Indeed, a superhero's job is 90 percent physical. We are bound to get hurt most of the time"-Starfire answered_

"_So, how did you get that big bruise on your forehead"-Jones asked_

"_Last night we had an emergency at the docks. One of the enemies hit me and I fell to the ground unconscious"-Starfire answered_

_"I see," Jones said while rubbing his chin with his hand. "Where were the rest of the Titans at that moment? Where you by yourself? I mean, no that I blame them for not being there for you or anything, it just that I don't know how this superhero stuff works. How do you divide the work during battle? I believe you must train a lot to think fast during a situation that doesn't offer you much time"-Jones said_

"_Oh! Robin is very strict about us receiving the proper training. He cares for us very much and blames himself when something goes wrong. Last night, Robin was the only one with me. The other Titans had gone to different places at the docks and were taking care of the enemy as well. However, Robin and I became outnumbered"-Starfire said_

"_That's when it happened?"-Jones asked_

"_Indeed, in a moment of confusion I got hurt. But it is not as bad as it seem. I barely notice that the bump is there"-Starfire answered_

"_Do you guys train against each other? Like, hit each other?"-Jones asked_

_Starfire did not like the way he has asked her that question. She felt the doctor had implied that Robin had hit her and that she was lying to cover him up. Robin would never hit her ever._

"_No, we train and fight against machines that Cyborg makes. Robin does not allow physical fighting between us. He says that it only triggers rivalry. The only time he allows us to train one-to-one is when he think it is absolutely necessary for us to improve some skill that he saw we did not use well in battle"-Starfire answered_

"_It seems he is a great leader"-Jones said_

"_He is"-Starfire said_

Starfire came went back to reality when she heard Robin tossing and turning on his bed, still asleep. She paid more attention when she heard him mumbling something. He was probably having a bad dream. She stood from the chair and walked to his bed. She placed one hand on his head and the other on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"Relax, Robin. I am here, calm down"-Starfire whispered

Robin did not stop tossing and still mumbled some unintelligible words. Starfire sat on his bed, getting closer to him.

"Robin, it is merely a dream. Please, wake up"-Starfire whispered

Robin began relaxing little by little until the only abnormal thing coming from him was his deep breathing. Slowly, his breathing stabled and Starfire caressed his forehead. She knew about bad dreams and she would give anything in the world to prevent Robin from having her type of nightmares.

Starfire sighed and was about to leave Robin's bed when she heard Robin mumbled again. This time the word was clearer. She bent down and placed her ear on his mouth and waited for him to repeat the word.

"What did you say, Robin?"-Starfire whispered

Robin took a deep breath and exhaled. He then repeated his words.

"Slade"

Starfire froze. Was he dreaming about Slade? Was Slade messing with his mind again? She cursed under her breath and felt a knot being made in her throat. Her heart skipped a beat.

"_My poor Robin"-Starfire thought_

She kissed his cheek and he immediately relaxed completely. She then moved herself from his bed and returned to her place on the chair. She would wait for him to wake up, even if it meant for her to sleep on a chair. He was worth the waiting and the sudden pain she had on her foot. She would surely wait.

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**A/N: **I know some of you guys think this is little bit more dark and that Starfire will probably turn into a serial killer but it is not that kind of _dark_. I am not fond of suicide and massive genocide or anything related to them. It is just that I am taking a course in college that taught me an interesting concept that I saw could be applied to this story. If you want to know which one then keep reading:) Thanks for reading! See ya soon!


	3. Undercover

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own TT**

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**Chapter 2**

Undercover

"So she just blasted him?"-BB asked with a squeaky voice

The next morning at Titans Tower, Raven, BB and Cyborg had breakfast on the kitchen table while they discussed the events that took place the day before. Cyborg had walked Starfire to Robin's room to make sure nothing happened on the way there. He then had left them and had gone to meet Raven at the training room. Cyborg explained the situation to Raven who, even though did not show any expression on her face, had a bad feeling about what had occurred at the kitchen with Starfire and Robin. Apparently, Starfire had spent the night at Robin's room and did not come out of it at all. The Titans believed she was still there since her room was neat and clean (more than usual) and they had not seen Robin yet since yesterday. Two things were terribly wrong: Robin had not been the first one to wake up and Starfire had not talked to any of them since yesterday afternoon. Raven had just filled BB in with the details.

"She said that she saw someone _else_"-Cyborg said

"Who?"-BB asked

"We still don't know. But the important fact here is that she _attacked_ him. Starfire attacked Robin"-Raven answered

"I can't believe it! Starfire is not the type of person that will attack _without_ reason. Starfire would not ever hurt any of us willingly, _especially _Robin"-BB said

"Our point exactly; if she was able to hurt him, she is more than capable of attacking _us_"-Raven said

The Titans hung their heads and fell into an uncomfortable silence. The situation did not look good. Their leader was not able to tell them what to do or how to react at the moment. Robin sure had many responsibilities as a leader of the team; many of which the Titans had taken for granted until this moment. BB finally broke the silence with a question that was on all of the Titans heads, including the ones not present at the kitchen table at the moment. The tone of his voice only confirmed the pain and sadness of his face.

"What are we gonna do?"

Raven closed her eyes, trying to concentrate and find an answer for BB's question. Was it possible that such an easy question had such a difficult answer? Cyborg sighed deeply and spoke in an even tone.

"We have to wait and see what _they_ resolve by themselves, and from that we decide what our part in this will be. Maybe going to the doctor was _not _such a good idea"

Raven opened her eyes after hearing Cyborg's last statement. She stared at Cyborg and then at BB. Taking her hood off, she stated her thoughts.

"I think it _is_ a good idea. Starfire's reaction yesterday was undeniable proof that she needs the help and that she is tired of carrying that burden of the past. It is time for her to leave it all behind"-Raven said

The Titans deducted that Starfire would probably act in the same strange behavior while this "cleaning" occurred. They just had to be extremely careful with her and watch over Robin from a very close range, and the rest of them for that matter. Even though Starfire was not a person to be afraid of, the fact that she had attacked _Robin_ made them think twice about this statement being absolutely true.

Meanwhile, Starfire slept on the same chair she had been sitting for almost 20 hours even though the soreness on her foot had been present all the time. Starfire had witnessed Robin's struggle to have a good night's sleep. She had been woken up several times by his mumbling while he was still slumbering.

Sometimes his mumbling related to punishing BB and Cyborg for something that had occurred only in Robin's dream, yet most of the time, Robin repeated that dreaded name: Slade. Even just imagining what Robin had been dreaming about made her feel uneasy. Starfire was worried about Robin's health. Maybe he was also as traumatized as she was about the ordeal of their past. Maybe Robin would be able to understand her after all.

Starfire had left out some details of the past adventure to prevent Robin from being hurt. However, leaving these details behind was eating her inside. Starfire thought that Robin would never understand what she went through, the decision she made, and her current state. But now that she had seen that maybe Robin also suffered from the same nightmares, there was a slight chance that Robin would see her side of the story and she could begin talking about that unmentionable topic with him.

Starfire remembered that Jones had told her that the best way to deal with her problems was to share them with someone else, preferably if this person had gone through a similar situation. She had felt better after she told Jones the beginnings of the story to him but she knew that the real person she needed to talk to was Robin. Her _Boy of Wonder_ urged her to hear the whole story and being the leader of the Titans and owner of her heart, he also _deserved_ to know everything.

Robin mumbled something unintelligible and slightly growled. He slowly opened his eyes and took his hand to his forehead to rub it. His head hurt.

"_What the hell?"-Robin thought_

Robin looked at his curtain. It was closed. He then saw the birdarang attached to it. Memories came back to his head. He remembered closing the curtain and then getting up from bed because of his hunger. After taking a shower he had smelled food. Starfire had been cooking.

"_Starfire, in the kitchen"-Robin thought_

He then recalled coming back from the hospital and talking to Cyborg. They were talking about the Tower's Security system when he heard Starfire gasp for air, as if she was chocking. He had run to her and she felt awfully stiff in his arms.

"_Starfire, talk to me. What's wrong? Starfire, snap out if it!"_ Robin remembered saying this to Starfire. He then recalled Starfire acting like she was defending herself. She looked scared and looked at him like if he was threatening her. He heard Starfire saying "Let me go! Robin!" or was it "Let me go Robin!"? He could not tell if she was calling his name for help of if she was asking him to let go of her.

Robin then remembered Starfire closing her eyes. He thought Starfire had finally come back to him but he was terrible wrong. He made the mistake of putting his guard down and he became open to the attack, her attack. He saw a green light and then everything became black. Did she attack him?

"_She would never do that to me"-Robin thought_

Robin turned to his other side and gasped when he saw Starfire sitting on a chair, next to his bed. How long has she been there?

"_How long have **I** been here?"-Robin thought_

Robin used his arm to push himself up and sat on his bed, staring at Starfire. She was still asleep or was she unconscious? He sat on the edge of his bed, his feet touching the cold floor. He tilted his head as he examined her from a distance. She did look asleep. Robin stood up and kneeled to be at eye level with Starfire, who was still on the chair. He supported his body with his left arm on the chair and with his other had he cupped Starfire's left cheek. Starfire's head was tilted to the left, her breathing steady and slow.

"_So beautiful"-Robin thought_

Robin felt scared when he saw Starfire attacking him at the kitchen, yet now, staring at her, he could not force himself to be afraid. He knew that Starfire would never hurt him willingly and that something must have had happened with her that made her do what she did. He looked at his alarm clock and saw the "12:00" mark blink. Starfire had disconnected the alarm during the night to prevent Robin from having a rude awakening. Robin sighed and after removing his hand from Starfire's cheek, he rubbed his face with his hands. He then realized that his mask was off.

Robin stood up and glanced at his nightstand to confirm that his mask was on top it and it was. Starfire always took special care of him; there was no reason to think that Starfire had hurt him on purpose. This was the second day since Starfire left the team and things were already getting real ugly. Robin did not even want to think what would have happened if Starfire's reaction had been in battle. Then it struck him, what if Starfire had already tried to blast the hell out of him?

"_The docks"-Robin thought_

Robin remembered how two days ago he thought she wanted to blast him but at the end it turned to be that she had saved his life. Or did she?

Robin shook his head to erase these thoughts and decided to talk to her when she woke up. He did not want to jump into conclusions until she gave him her side of the story. With the current situation there was no room for assuming anything negative, not this time around. Robin sat on the floor, in front of Starfire's feet and carefully removed her shoes. He planned on laying her on the bed and leave her to rest. Knowing her, she must have stayed all night taking her of him and sleeping on a chair did not seem very comfortable.

Robin removed her left shoe and put it under his bed. He then proceeded to remove her right shoe and it felt like it was being unglued from her sock. Starfire flinched while still asleep and a small whimper was heard. Robin stopped moving and held his breath. He waited a few seconds and he was glad to see that she had not woken up.

Robin examined the shoe in his hand and saw red spots on it. Whatever it was, the liquid had dried up and got stuck on the fabric. Robin touched it and smelled it. He then reached for Starfire's foot and saw more red stains on the sock. He carefully removed the sock, trying not to hurt Starfire again. Robin then remembered what had happened: Starfire had dropped the glass she was holding when she saw him. She looked scared. After struggling with her, she had closed her eyes and then took a step forwards before blasting him with her eye's laser. She had stepped on the broken glass and it had punctuated the shoes, reaching her foot.

Robin felt guilty after he realized what had happened. Starfire completely ignored her pain to take care of him first. That was Starfire's style alright: putting everything else and everyone else before her well-being.

"_Just like Red X"-Robin thought_

However, if Red X was part of Robin, did this not mean that Robin too was able to put everything and everyone before him? Maybe, maybe not.

"_Slade"-Robin thought_

Yes, it was true that he had left his obsession with Slade get the best of him and had pushed his friends away. He had pushed Starfire away and even then, she never gave up on him. She put up his attitude and tried to open his eyes. Robin felt his stomach flip. Starfire was too much for him.

"_I don't deserve you, Star"-Robin thought_

Robin carried Starfire to his bed and slowly laid her on it. He then walked to his nightstand and grabbed his utility belt. He went back to his bed and sat on the floor, in front of the end of the bed. He opened one of the many cases of his utility belt and took out a tiny bottle that contained rubbing alcohol and a tiny gauze. He began cleaning Starfire's wound.

"_I need to watch over you closely. I don't want you to get hurt anymore"-Robin thought_

Meanwhile, the Titans had finished their breakfast and returned to their assigned tasks. BB washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Cyborg continued to update the Tower's system and Raven excused herself saying that she was going to meditate. Her special task had been interrupted yesterday when Cyborg beeped her to tell her the situation with Robin and Starfire. She had to get back to work before Robin woke up and found out that she had stopped halfway her job.

Raven arrived to the Evidence Room and after making sure no one was following her, she got in and locked the door. Raven began examining Red X's clothes as carefully as she had done yesterday. Such a meticulous job made her extremely tired, her mind having to be focused on the current task while the events from yesterday occupied her mind as well, made her job even more difficult. Raven could not help to let her mind wander and think about her point of view about the existing obstacle that the Titans were encountering.

"_I can't believe Robin wants this guy back, don't we have enough trouble with Starfire's trauma?"-Raven thought_

Raven sighed desperately and increased the lens's capacity of the microscope to have a more accurate view of the piece of garment she was examining.

"_Maybe we do need two Robin's to stop Starfire next time she attacks…or maybe she will attack twice as often with two Robins around"-Raven thought_

Raven heard footsteps approaching the Evidence Room's door and her instinct was to stop her movement. Who was it? Was it Robin? Was it Starfire? What was she supposed to do if someone else than Robin caught her red-handed? Raven heard the footsteps stop and someone began talking. It was BB.

"Now I have to be the Tower's maid? Beast Boy clean this…Beast Boy clean that…who am I? Mother May-Eye?" BB said while putting the bucket of water on the floor and wetting the mop. BB turned to face the door and turn the knob. Raven held her breath.

"Why is the door locked?" BB asked himself, again trying to open the door. "Maybe I can turn into a mouse and open the door from inside…"

"_Since when did Beast Boy become so smart?"-Raven thought_

"…or, I could just say the door was locked and save myself the work of having to clean more rooms than I am supposed to. Beast Boy, you are a genius!"-BB said

BB lifted the bucket of water and made his way to the restroom. The Evidence Room was barely used; he did not think that it even got dirty. Besides, it was not like Robin was going to see the difference, right?

"_He has better things to worry about"-BB thought_

With this, he began his moping of the restroom, far away from the Evidence Room. Raven continued to do her job, trying not to make as much noise as before.

"_Maybe I should complain less and work more"-Raven thought_

Robin finished making sure Starfire was comfortable and after taking a shower and getting back on his uniform, he left his room.

"_Now to straight things with the rest of the Titans"-Robin thought_

Robin made his way to the main room where he knew he would find Cyborg working on the Tower's system and he was right. Cyborg turned to see who had come in and was glad to see Robin.

"Hey, man! How are you feeling?"

Robin grinned and walked towards Cyborg. He took a peak at the laptop's screen and saw that Cyborg was almost done with the updating of the Tower's computer.

"Been better, thanks. What percent of the system's update have you finished?"-Robin asked

"80 percent; almost done, champ"-Cyborg answered

"Good, you can stop now"-Robin said

"Why? You are giving a break?"-Cyborg said

"No. I promised you and BB an extra amount of training, remember? Do you seriously think I would forget?"-Robin asked

"After the doctor's appointment, the attack from Starfire and the almost one-day coma you had, well…yes"-Cyborg answered

"Tough luck, now go find Beast Boy. I'll meet you outside at the Training Area"-Robin said

"Ok. One question, though"-Cyborg said

"What is that?"-Robin asked

"How is Star doing? Are you guys ok?"-Cyborg asked

Robin sighed, knowing this question was going to be asked soon. What was he supposed to say?

"_The truth"-Robin thought_

"She is doing ok. She hurt her foot with the glass but I took care of that, she's sleeping at my room now. I haven't talked to her so I can't tell you more than that. All I know is that she didn't mean to attack me, I don't have to ask her to know that she didn't do it on purpose"-Robin answered

Cyborg nodded and gave Robin's shoulder a little squeeze as in saying "Hold on there, friend. We have your back" and left the room to look for BB. Robin got himself a glass of water to make time and allow Cyborg to be as far away from the Evidence Room as possible. He had to go see Raven's report of her task.

Robin waited a couple of minutes and got out of the main room, making his way to the Evidence Room. On the other side of the Tower, Cyborg had found BB and was telling him about Robin's orders to meet outside to train.

"I can't believe he didn't forget about the whole thing!"-BB said

"Did you really think he would forget?"-Cyborg asked

"After the doc's appointment, the attack from Star and the almost one-day not-waking-up thingy he had, well…yeah!"-BB answered

Cyborg chuckled at BB's response; it was funny how they both thought alike sometimes.

"Come on, we better not keep Robin waiting. He'll double our extra trainings"-Cyborg said

"Yeah, yeah"-BB said

Cyborg and BB made their way outside the Tower. Robin was already inside the Evidence Room.

"As I told you before, I haven't finished examining him but results so far don't look good, at all"-Raven said

"Keep looking Raven. There must be something we can use"-Robin said

"I will, don't worry. You take care of Starfire"-Raven said

"I will, don't worry. Right now I want you to keep an eye on Star. I have to train Beast Boy and Cyborg outside the Tower. She's in my room, the door is unlocked"-Robin said

"You didn't forget the punishment?"-Raven asked

Robin shook his head.

"Ok, I'm on my way. Don't want to be on your bad side"-Raven said

Robin grinned and Raven left the room. Robin stared at Red X's attire and felt afraid that he might not be able to come back. Red X deserved the chance and Robin would do anything to give it to him. His dead had been Robin's fault anyway, he remembered it all.

_Robin growled, feeling the anger climb up to his face. He thought he would never hate anyone else more than he hated Slade. He was wrong. He could not stand the presence of this man, this copy that was standing in front of him. It did not matter how sick everyone said he was, he had hurt what Robin protected the most and Robin was not going to let him get away with it._

_-"What angers you the most? That you couldn't have her or that I did?"-Red X asked_

_-"This ends now"-Robin answered_

_-"You can't touch me"-Red X said_

_-"Watch me"-Robin said_

_Robin gathered all his fears, all his hate and all his anger and aimed it at the person in front of him. This person that had ruined his life, almost made his team disappear and had took advantage, full advantage, of his best friend. He had done enough. Robin twirled his retractable staff and ran towards Red X who was standing there, making no movements._

_Red X closed his eyes and was ready to receive his fate, with no fear in his heart. Robin jumped and used his retractable staff to push Red X towards a tree. The hit made Red X's lung empty. That had hurt._

_Red X fell on the floor, face down. He slowly stood up only to see Robin approach him with an incredible speed. He had never seen Robin so mad. Red X faked a fighting stance but Robin had not trouble breaking it. Robin punched Red X on his solar-plexus and then used a low kick to swipe Red X from his feet. Red X fell on his back and curled up to try to diminish the soreness of his stomach. Robin pulled one of his feet and twirled him around only to release him when he reached enough speed to cause some damage._

_Red X flew across the field and broke a couple of branches on his way. He ended on the floor, his face up, some of his bones cracked. Robin ran towards him and lifted him from his shirt. Red X did not make an effort to release himself from Robin's grip._

_-"No one hurts Starfire. No one. I knew you were a fake from the day we knew of your existence. You took advantage of her, you used her and she never saw who you really were. She died because of you; I lost her because of you. I can't believe you thought you could get away with it. You killed part of me…and now it's your turn to suffer"-Robin said_

"_Bring it own, shorty"-Red X said_

_Robin threw Red X on the air, only to receive him with a flying kick that sent him to the center of the field. The rain was worse; there were puddles of mud everywhere. Their uniforms were covered by mud. The only difference between them was that Robin was still standing and Red X was on his back on the ground._

_Red X used his last strength to shoot a laser disc towards Robin. Robin was not expecting this and it took him by surprise. Robin's eyes were blinded for seconds and Red X took this time to stand up. Robin opened his eyes halfway and saw Red X approaching him. Robin needed to react fast. It was now or never._

"_This ends now"-Robin thought_

_Robin ran towards Red X and without thinking, he delivered a complicated series of punches and kicks alternating with hits from his retractable staff until Red X fell on the ground. Robin swore he was able to hear the bones cracking. Robin fell on his knees and panted. He was tired. _

_Robin lifted his head and saw the still body on the ground. Robin had won but at what cost?_

"_What did I do?"-Robin whispered_

Robin opened his eyes, which he did not realize he had closed during his remembering. His anger had blinded him. The worse part being that Red X had tricked him. He had lied about hurting Starfire. He had put Starfire's life before his. Robin had a lot to learn yet.

"I better go train"-Robin said

Robin left the Evidence Room as fast as he could, trying to run away from his memories. He ran without stopping until he reached the exit. He took a second to relax himself and regain composure. He could not allow the others to see him in his current state.

He massaged his head and rubbed his face with his hands. He breathed deeply and exhaled as deeply as he had inhaled.

"_Concentrate, you have work to do"-Robin thought_

Robin straightened himself and began walking towards the Training Area. Cyborg and BB were already there, waiting for Robin to come and put them through hell. They knew he was going to be even more strict about their training so next time they would think before speaking. This was the way Robin kept order in the Tower. He never insulted them or hit them. He rather put them under training worse than boot camp for several days.

"He wanted for us to be here on time and he just got here"-BB whispered

"If I were you I wouldn't say anything. You want to make matters worse?"-Cyborg whispered

BB gulped. He remembered the last time they had being under Robin's punishment. He was very strict when it came to keeping discipline. That time even Starfire had to deal with his training.

"Didn't think so"-Cyborg said

Robin walked towards them and started to explain what their training was going to be. They had to go over the obstacle course 25 times in 30 minutes. Normally, completing the entire obstacle course would take them approximately 2 minutes. They had to be fast. If they were not able to do so, they would have to do all over again until they accomplished the time with the number of times he had requested.

"That's it?"-Cyborg asked

"Not exactly"-Robin answered

"You had to ask"-BB said

"I will be changing the obstacles from the main control. You will not go thru the same course twice"-Robin said

BB raised his hand. "Uhm, what if we don't finish today?"

Robin looked at him and crossed his arms in disapproval. He did not like members of his team doubting themselves.

"Then you will have to stay here until you are done"-Robin said

"Do we get bathroom breaks?"-BB asked

"No"-Robin said

Cyborg pointed and made fun of BB's worried face. He did not have to worry about it. He did not have to use a restroom. He was never more grateful about being a room in his entire life. Robin saw Cyborg's easiness and decided to give him something to worry about as well.

"And no food until you finish"-Robin said

"SAY WHAT?"-Cyborg asked

"What you heard. Now get ready while I prepare the first round. Beast Boy you will start and as soon as you finish your 20 times, Cyborg will begin his rounds"-Robin said

BB and Cyborg nodded and began doing stretches while prepared their obstacle courses. He was too concentrated on his task that he did not notice that Raven was standing behind him. Robin took his gaze from the monitor and looked that BB was waiving at someone. He turned back and saw Raven.

"Aren't you supposed to be taking care of Starfire?"-Robin asked

"I went to see her; she won't be up for an hour or so. She is very tired. She seemed to be having bad dreams"-Raven answered

"_She's not the only one"-Robin thought_

Robin returned his gaze to the monitor and made a sign to BB to get ready. He initiated the course and BB ran as fast as he could. Robin had already programmed half of the courses and the other half he let them to be randomized by the computer. After he saw that BB was concentrating in completing the course and that Cyborg was cheering for him, he turned back to face Raven.

"Did you sense anything weird in her?"-Robin asked

Raven was surprised by Robin's question. Was he implying that something _was_ indeed wrong with her or was he only asking to see if Raven's powers could explain her behavior?

"I only sensed her having bad dreams. We all have bad dreams, I don't think it's a big deal"-Raven answered

"_Some of us more than others"-Robin thought_

"Is there something you haven't told us?"-Raven asked

"No. I am just trying to find an explanation for her behavior. I want to ask her what happened but I thought that maybe you had sensed something that would have helped that coming conversation"-Robin answered

"Are you _that_ afraid of her answer"-Raven asked

At that moment, BB screamed and fell on one of the holes that Robin had placed in the obstacles.

"We never had holes before!"-BB screamed from inside the hole.

"You are wasting time, B! Hurry up!"-Cyborg screamed

"Aw, man! I'll have to do it again!"-BB said

"Better luck next time"-Cyborg said

Robin shook his head and continued his conversation with Raven.

"I just can't think of a reason for her to attack me as she did. I know she has an answer but I don't know if I want to hear it"-Robin answered

"Do you have an option?"-Raven asked

"Not really"-Robin answered

Raven shrugged and Robin sighed. She was right; facing Starfire was the only correct thing to do.

Almost two hours passed and neither Cyborg nor BB had being able to complete the course in 30 minutes. Raven had been meditating next to Robin at the control panel. She was secretly enjoying BB and Cyborg's butt whopping. Robin prepared the next 40 sequences of course for the other male Titans. Cyborg and BB were on the floor, unable to stand up.

Robin approached them and crossed his arms while he looked down at them.

"The next sequence is ready. Get up"-Robin said

Both fallen Titans were hyperventilating like there was no tomorrow. They swore they would never ever not follow Robin's instructions and orders.

"Dude, I am…tired…I can't…please…no more"-BB said

"What he said"-Cyborg said

Robin arched an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips. He had been very strict with them. He was sure they had learned their lesson. He even felt guilty for putting them under such a strenuous physical workout.

"Ok, but Beast Boy, you are still I charge of the cleaning of the Tower, Starfire hurt her foot yesterday and even though she can fly I don't want her doing anything that she doesn't have to. Cyborg, you know what you are supposed to do, don't ask Starfire to lift anything heavy. You both got it?"-Robin asked

"Yes"-They answered

BB sat on the ground and massaged his feet. Cyborg stood up and cracked his neck. Suddenly, both Titans turned to the control panel and smiled widely. Robin furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hey, champ. Your lady is up"-Cyborg said

Robin turned to back to see what Cyborg was talking about. He saw Starfire standing a few feet from Raven, who was still meditating. Robin smiled and was never gladder to see her. She seemed fine and she was in her fighting outfit. He would have to convince her to wear more comfortable clothes in the Tower after they had talked about yesterday.

Starfire smiled at him and he began walking towards her.

"And you would think Robin couldn't _feel_ the luv"-BB joked

Robin turned back to glare at BB who only put his hands on his mouth and muttered something. What was Robin supposed to do? Starfire did have that effect on him. Robin returned his gaze to the control panel only to see Starfire…unconscious on Slade's arms.

Robin froze.

"_Slade"-Robin thought_

His heart raced and his mind became bombarded with a ridiculous amount of thoughts. What the hell was Slade doing there? How the hell was he alive? Was Starfire still alive? Was it a dream?

"_This is real"-Robin thought_

Robin's mind screamed at his legs to move as fast they could but they would not respond.

"_Starfire…is she? I can't loose her. Not again"-Robin thought_

Robin used all his might to get a pair of laser discs and threw them to Slade. After doing this, Robin began running towards Starfire, getting his retractable staff ready for use.

"Robin!"-Cyborg screamed

"Stop!" BB yelled while trying to run but his legs betrayed him. He could not move freely after the training he had just gone through.

Robin did not listen to them. He kept his stare focused on Slade. He then looked at Starfire, still limp on his embrace. Slade took Starfire on his arms and jumped to the ground to evade Robin's laser discs.

Robin ran even faster and twirled his staff. Being a few feet away from Slade, he felt an external force stop him. He desperately tried to free himself but he could not. Raven had used her powers to stop him.

"Why Raven?"-Robin said

"That's exactly what I want to know. Why did you attack Starfire?"-Raven asked

"WHAT?"-Robin answered

Robin moved his gaze towards Slade and he was gone. In his place was a standing Starfire, her hands clasped together on her chest and her eyes filled with tears.

"_He was there…I saw him"-Robin thought_

"Raven, let me go"-Robin said

"I don't think it's safe"-Raven said

"I'm not asking you what you think, I am ordering you to let me go"-Robin said

Raven looked at Cyborg and BB. She then looked at Starfire with a look that asked her what to do. Starfire nodded. Raven released Robin and he ran towards Starfire. He extended his arms towards her and her only response was to flinch and close her eyes.

"Starfire…I'm sorry…I don't know what happened to me…I saw you were in danger"-Robin said

Starfire sobbed and did not reply. Robin looked at the control panel and saw that his disks had destroyed it completely. He now had to ask Cyborg to fix it and he was sure they he would not be able to ask him or BB to continue the punishment. What had happened?

"I think we should leave you two alone"-Raven said

Cyborg and BB nodded and before the couple could reply, the Titans had disappeared, leaving them alone to discuss their unresolved issues. Robin looked at Starfire and could not help to feel his heart being crushed. Starfire had a face of fear that he had never seen on her and the worst part was that he had provoked it.

"Do you wish to harm me?"-Starfire asked

Robin's eyes widened at Starfire question. Why would she think that? He loved her with all his life, and more than he loved his own life.

"_Maybe because you almost hurt her bad?"-Robin thought_

Robin walked closer to her and put his hands on her shoulder. He had an urge to hold her so badly. He could not believe what he had almost done.

"Don't say that, Star. I am…so sorry…forgive me"-Robin said

Starfire hugged Robin and he hugged her back. They stayed like this for a long time and Starfire cried on his shoulder for a while. Robin caressed her hair and whispered to her that everything would be ok. That they would work things out and more importantly: the he did not hate her.

Starfire's sobs lessened as she heard Robin's words. Robin kissed her neck and held her even tighter.

"You saw _him_ too?"-Starfire whispered.

Robin's mouth dropped. What did she mean by _him_…and _too_? Had Slade truly been there? Did she see him as well? Were they both going crazy? No, he was not going crazy. He had to convince himself that he was not losing it. Starfire did not need a useless crazy guy with hallucinations. She needed a strong, non-delirious man by her side.

"Who?"-Robin asked

"Him! I heard you dreaming about him. Do you see him in your dreams?"-Starfire asked

"I…don't know what you are talking about"-Robin said

Robin was not ready to accept that he was suffering the same problems as Starfire. He had to be strong. He had to be a _man_. Even if his concept of a man was different from the one Starfire had.

"It is ok to be afraid"-Starfire said

"I'm not afraid"-Robin said

Starfire broke the hug and Robin regretted his last sentence. He had blown it…again.

"What happened yesterday, at the kitchen?"-Robin asked

"I am afraid I cannot answer your question, Robin. You will not be able to understand why I did what I did and I saw if you cannot feel fear"-Starfire answered

Robin knew that to get the information he wanted from her he had to tell her the truth. Tell her that he saw Slade just seconds ago. That he had nightmares about him and that his memories would not let him be. However, his pride was greater than his curiosity. He had to let it go, at least for now and use alternative methods to gather information from her.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what happens to you. Please tell me, trust me"-Robin said

"I trust you. But I do not think there is anything you can do to help me. Dr. Jones said that if I wanted to cure myself I shall have to talk to someone that was suffering the same situation that I am. I thought you were in the same state that I am but I was wrong"-Starfire said

"But Starfire…" Robin began saying but was interrupted by Starfire. "I shall retire now; I must prepare for the New Year festivities. Since last year I was not able to enjoy this holiday with all of you, my friends, I shall make sure that this time we make up for the last time"-Starfire said

Starfire began flying away from Robin. She was not able to walk, making it obvious that her foot still hurt. Robin did not want her to leave. He wanted to hold her and be with her but his mind did not work as fast as he wanted. He had to say something to keep the conversation going; he had to make her want to stay.

"Do you need any help? I don't want you to tire yourself. Beast Boy and Cyborg have strict orders to follow your every command"-Robin said

Starfire stopped and without even looking back, he replied to Robin.

"They are my friends. I do not need to give them orders, I am sure that they will offer their assistance without me having to ask"-Starfire said

"_Ouch!"-Robin thought_

Starfire resumed her path and went inside the Tower. Robin kicked one of the obstacles that was next to him.

"Even dead you screw us up, Slade"-Robin mumbled

Robin made his way to the Tower. Starfire, BB and Cyborg were on the main room, already planning what to do for New Year's Eve. The date was only two days from now and they had little time to arrange a big party.

"We may invite the Titans East, yes?"-Starfire asked

"_That_ would be awesome!"-BB answered

"You know what this means? We need lots and lots of food!"-Cyborg said

"Yeah, we need veggie food for me…and no fish for Aqualad and herbal tea for Raven…"-BB rambled

"This will be so much fun!"-Starfire said

The Titans began making a list of what they wanted to buy and to do during New Year's Eve while they waited for the New Year to arrive. Robin entered the main room from outside the Tower but none the Titans notice his presence. They were too busy coming up with ideas for their party. Robin left the room as quiet as he arrived and made his way to his room. He needed some peace to think. He also needed to catch up on his investigation about the new enemy on town, he still did not know if it even was a new enemy or the return of a forgotten one.

The late afternoon arrived and Robin was still locked up in his room. Raven was still in the Evidence Room and the rest of the Titans were still preparing the party.

"We are almost done with the planning of the festivity. When shall we buy the required objects and food?"-Starfire asked

"I guess tomorrow morning. Right now I am way tired"-BB answered

Cyborg made a face while looking at the list. There were sure many things that they had to buy. Starfire and BB noticed his change in attitude and asked him what was wrong with him.

"Guys…what if the Titans East can't come? I know we are almost done with the planning and all but don't you think we should see if they already have plans before we go all crazy buying this stuff?"-Cyborg asked

Starfire and BB looked at each other. Cyborg was right. There they were making plans that included the Titans East and they had not even told them with anticipation. The excitement of having a big party had made them forget about that little yet important detail.

"You are right, Cyborg. Perhaps we should call them right now before the night comes?"-Starfire asked

"Yeah, Star's right"-BB answered

"Let's call'em"-Cyborg said

Cyborg walked to the big screen and after typing several codes on the keyboard, the screen displayed the main room of Titans East Tower.

BB and Starfire stood up and found a place next to Cyborg. The Titans East were, as usual, arguing about dinner. They had not noticed that the screen was turned on.

"Greetings friends! Are we interrupting?" Starfire said while she flew closer to the screen. The Titans did not hear her salute.

"It seems they have more problems than us when it comes to food"-BB said

"We were liked that too…they'll get over it"-Cyborg said

More rambling was heard coming from the screen. Bumblebee was asking them to shut up while Aqualad and Speedy argued about fish and Mas y Menos stated that they were hungry.

"How are we to gain their attention?"-Starfire asked

"Like this"-Cyborg said

Cyborg pressed a button on the keyboard and a compartment opened. A microphone came out of the compartment and he took it to his mouth.

"You guys may wanna cover your ears"-Cyborg said

BB turned into a turtle and hid inside its shell while Starfire grabbed a pair of oven mitts and used them to cover her ears by plugging them in.

Cyborg exhaled as much air as he could and without hesitation he yelled at the microphone.

"CUT IT OUT!"

The screen displayed the Titans East getting scared to death. How long had the screen being on?

"Mmhh, Hi?"-Bumblebee said

"Señor Cyborg!"-Mas y Menos said

"Hi, kids…having some trouble?"-Cyborg asked

"Not really, what is up?"-Aqualad asked

At that moment, Starfire and BB came on the screen and waved their hands frantically.

"Hello, fellow Titans of the East! We wish to make an invitation"-Starfire said

"Invitation? Where to?"-Speedy asked

"To our Tower, for New Year's Eve"-BB answered

"What do you guys say?"-Cyborg asked

The Titans East looked at each other and then at the screen once again.

"Are you saying that you are inviting us to you Tower to a party and to spend New Year's Eve with you?"-Bumblebee asked

"Yeah"-BB answered

The Eastern Titans called a time out and formed a circle on a corner of the main room. Cyborg and the others were only able to hear some whispering. Finally, the Titans came back to the front of the screen with wide smiles on their faces.

"OK"-Bumblebee said

"Wondrous!"-Starfire said

"Sweet!"-BB said

"Oh, yeah!"-Cyborg said

"What time do we meet?"-Speedy asked

"Come around 6pm. We should be ready by then"-Cyborg answered

"Does Robin know about this? We don't want to be a sour surprise to anyone"-Aqualad asked

"Are you kidding? Robin will be more than ok with it!"-BB answered

"I'll take your word for it"-Bumblebee said

"Tendremos una fiesta!"-Mas y Menos said

"We'll see you tomorrow then"-Speedy said

"K, see ya!"-Cyborg said

The screen became dark again and the Titans continued to apply the finishing touches to their plans and made sure that tomorrow morning they would buy anything and everything that they needed. It was about time the Titans sat back, relaxed and enjoyed life. All of them needed the time out.

Cyborg and BB prepared dinner and after stuffing their mouths and playing some game station, they decided to call it quits for the day. Robin's training had tired them very much and then they had helped Starfire plan the party. Both BB and Cyborg retired to their rooms, not before cleaning the kitchen that is, and making sure Starfire did not do anything that she was not "allowed" to.

Starfire, on the other hand, retired to her room and after taking a shower and applying new bandages to her forehead and foot, she jumped on her bed and closed her eyes. Unfortunately, night had arrived and Starfire tried to avoid such dreaded time of the day. It was time to sleep or, to try to sleep, in her case. Raven had also called it quits for the day and had gone back to her room. She was almost done with her examination and she was sure that she would finish by tomorrow. The most important thing in her list now was to sleep.

Meanwhile, Robin's room was a total mess. He was sitting on his desk and the only light that illuminated his room was his desk lamp. Papers were scattered on the floor and on his desk along with plenty of photographs and profiles of every single one of his enemies, whether they were dead or alive. He also had some artifacts used by their enemies in old battles and videos of old fights. His laptop displayed his screensaver, consisting of pictures of him and Starfire, which covered the main page of Jump City's Police Department.

He had being investigating the source of the new henchmen since he had returned from the training. Even though the attacks of the henchmen had been daily, he still had found no connection between the sites attacked and the purpose of the henchmen. The henchmen never stole anything or attacked innocent bystanders. The only purpose that Robin found for the appearance of these mysterious henchmen was to keep the Titans busy and awake until late hours of the night.

Robin had tried to collect parts of the henchmen but once they were destroyed, they became dust and disappeared completely. It was as if the creators of these robots did not want anyone to learn the technology used for this state-of-the-art machinery, and for Robin's misfortune, they had done a great job.

"_Those bastards leave nothing behind"-Robin thought_

Robin stretched himself and grabbed the bunch of profiles from the floor for the 20th time. He began reading the name of the criminal and decided to separate them in different groups.

"Mumbo, dead; Control Freak, mental hospital; the HIVE, jail; Atlas, dead; Brother Blood, jail; Dr. Light, dead; Rancid, jail; Killer Moth, jail; Malchior, trapped in a book; Mother Mae-Eye, trapped in a pie," Robin could not help to shiver at the memories of being treated as a baby by a clorbag witch. "Mad Mod, jail…Slade…hell?"-Robin said

Robin sighed. When he discarded the enemies that were dead, the enemies left were either in jail or other place and even though they would have gained access to henchmen, it was definitely not their style.

A second observation that bothered Robin was the fact that the everyday midnight disturbances had ended that night that Starfire had left the team. Maybe the purpose of the henchmen was to scare the hell out of Starfire so that she would have to leave the team and stay in the Tower by herself when a mission came along.

"_This is were Cyborg's security comes in"-Robin thought_

Robin had to take time to check the accuracy and reliability of the Tower's security system. He was not going to allow leaving Starfire alone by herself if he was not entirely sure that she would be alright and that she would not encounter any danger while they were not present. He made a mental note to talk to the Titans about his theories and order Starfire not to leave the Tower by herself or to expose herself to any kind of danger.

Robin crossed his arms and turned his gaze to the screensaver of his laptop. At that exact moment, a picture of the team sitting on the couch appeared. BB had a big smile on his face and made the victory sign with his left hand. Raven's eyes were rolled and Cyborg poked Raven's cheek. Robin's left hand was slapping his face and his right hand held Starfire's hand. Starfire pointed at Raven and giggled. Robin smiled at the memory of that day. They had just arrived from their adventure at the Space Station and had spent the whole night talking about their adventures. For some reason, Raven had not wanted to tell them about the _horrible_ situations she had to encounter in that "hostile" planet.

The next picture appeared. This one only showed Starfire and Robin. Starfire was giving him a kiss on his cheek and he was blushing. The idea of the picture was to take a picture of themselves by themselves. Robin extended the camera to take the picture and seconds before he pressed the flash button, Starfire had kissed him. He could not help to blush at Starfire's action. The picture was taken during the first weeks they were going out and he was still a little shy about the whole relationship. Robin chuckled.

"_Starfire"_

Robin stood up from his chair and jumped over the paper that were on the floor. Even though the room looked messy, the papers were organized in a certain order and he did not want to mix them up. Robin looked back to look at the time at his alarm clock but it still had the 12:00 mark blinking. Robin jumped his way to his door and opened it before opening his T-Com and taking a quick look at the time. The watch read "12:58am". He was sure the Titans would be asleep by now.

Robin made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He arrived to the kitchen and was glad to see that everything was cleaned and on its place. He hoped Starfire had nothing to do with the cleaning and that BB had cleaned everything himself. Robin remembered the last time he had been at the kitchen and its presence included a glass of water. Only that this time, he was the one drinking the water and he was by himself.

Robin took his gloves off and washed the glass and placed it back in its place. He dried his hands and put his gloves back on. He then began his ay back to his room, only that this time he took a different route; the route that involved walking next to Starfire's door. He had not come by to say goodnight and she probably was still upset at him since she had not gone to his room to say goodnight either.

As he approached Starfire's door he heard Starfire talking.

"_Is she still awake?"_

Robin walked faster and stop in front of Starfire's door.

"No, stop! Release me at once!"-Starfire said

Robin did not like what he was hearing. He quickly typed the override code to open her door and he jumped inside it, three discs on one hand and his retractable staff ready to be used on his other hand.

"Please, let me go"-Starfire said

Robin moved his head sideways, trying to find an intruder in Starfire's room.

"_Why the hell didn't the alarm go off?"-Robin thought_

"Stop right there!"-Robin said

No sound was heard.

"Get away from her!"-Robin said

"Robin!"-Starfire said

Robin used his retractable staff to turn the lights on and, after the few seconds his eyes took to adjust the brightness of the light, he was able to see that the room was empty and the only person inside it besides him was Starfire. Robin put his disks and his staff back in their place and walked to Starfire. She was crying and she held onto the covers as if they were the only thing that prevented her from falling into a never ending abyss.

"Star, are you ok?"-Robin asked

Starfire blinked and the tears that had stayed in her eyes gave way to new ones. She sobbed and stayed still without saying a word. Robin walked to her and sat next to her on her bed. He placed his hands on hers and felt that she was shivering and sweating.

"Starfire, who did this to you? Who was here?"-Robin asked

Starfire removed her hands from under his and hugged him very tight. Robin returned the hug and examined her room for any signs of an intrusion or a fight. There was no sign of anything unusual. Robin kissed Starfire's cheek.

"There was no one here, I had a terrible and realistic-feeling nightmare"-Starfire answered

"Nightmare? What kind of nightmare makes you scream at the middle of the night? Do you want to talk about it?"-Robin asked

"_Please say yes this time"-Robin thought_

"No"-Starfire answered

"_There it goes"-Robin thought_

Robin decided to give it a rest. He had to wait for Starfire to want to tell him what was going on with her. He could only show her that he cared for her and that he truly wanted to know what was going on in that mind of hers. He hoped one day, sooner than later, she would finally come out and tell him the truth.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"-Robin asked

Starfire broke the hug and kissed Robin on the lips. Robin was not expecting this from Starfire at the moment but he did not complain. He enjoyed it and kissed her back. After a few seconds, Starfire stopped the kiss and cupped Robin's face with her hands.

"Can you stay with me the rest of the night?"-Starfire asked

Robin held one of her hands and kissed the back of it. He then looked at Starfire who still looked frightened and smiled.

"Of course"-Robin answered

Robin gave Starfire a goodnight kiss and after grabbing a pillow he jumped off the bed and found a spot on the floor that seemed comfortable. Starfire gave him a questioning look.

"Why are you on the floor?"-Starfire asked

Robin turned to see her and furrowed his eyebrows.

"I thought you had asked me to stay for the night"-Robin answered

"I did, but do you expect me to leave you to sleep on the floor"-Starfire asked

"Uhm, yeah"-Robin answered

Starfire giggled and Robin arched and eyebrow while he also cocked a smile.

"What's so funny, Star?"-Robin asked

"Earth boys are very strange. Are you afraid of sleeping with me in the same bed?"-Starfire asked

"Uhm, yeah"-Robin answered

"Why is that?"-Starfire asked

"I just don't want you to think anything bad about me"-Robin answered

Starfire bent and in a quick movement, pulled Robin and the pillow on her bed. Robin gasped in surprise.

"Do not be silly, Robin. I cannot have bad thoughts about you. Now turn the lights off and hold me while I sleep"-Starfire said

Robin smiled and pulled a birdarang out.

"Yes ma'am!"-Robin said

Robin threw the birdarang to the light switch and the lights went off after sparkles came out of the socket.

"I believe you have broken the light switch"-Starfire said while giggling

"I was gonna get you a new one, anyway"-Robin said

"You were?"-Starfire asked

"Not really, but now I will"-Robin answered

Starfire giggled slightly and Robin held her by her waist from behind. Starfire held his arms and snuggled to him until she became comfortable. Robin buried his face on her neck and gave it a long kiss. Starfire shivered and got even closer to him.

"Goodnight, Robin"

"Goodnight, Star"

Robin opened his eyes and felt strangely comfortable on his bed. When did his mattress get so fluffy? He then realized that he was not on his bed but on Starfire's. He moved his gaze down and saw Starfire halfway on top of him, her arm surrounding his waist and her head on his chest. His arm was around her back and his other hand was holding Starfire's hand.

"_I can get use to this"-Robin thought_

Robin remembered the reason why he was on Starfire's room and if he was smart enough to walk around in the middle of the night close to Starfire's room, he might end up like this with her in more occasions.

"_Not bad at all"-Robin thought_

Even though Robin was very comfortable, he knew he had to get up and make sure he prepared a report to present to the Titans about what he had investigated the day before. He wanted to do it before Cyborg, BB and Starfire left the Tower to buy food for tomorrow's party. He had overheard that they were making a big party and that they had a list of things they were going to buy today. As much as he wanted to go with her, he had to stay with Raven and check what she had to say about Red X's coming back plan.

Robin looked at Starfire's clock. It read "7:00am".

"_I still have time to enjoy this"-Robin thought_

Robin held Starfire closer to him and closed his eyes, falling into a deepest sleep that the one he had just woken up from.

Robin opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He had the best night sleep since…a long time. Even though he bed was still comfy, there was something missing. He looked down and saw that Starfire was gone. He then turned to the clock and it read "10:00am". He closes his eyes and cursed under his breath.

"Better check on Raven before I talk to the Titans about my findings and Red X"-Robin said

He rolled over from the bed and had began making his way to the door when he realized that he had something else to do at this room before he could leave.

"The bed"-Robin said

Robin returned to the bed and made sure it was nice and clean before he left. He made a mental note to change Starfire's light switch before the night came. Robin got outside Starfire's room and after washing his face he contacted Raven.

"Raven, come in. Are you busy?"-Robin asked

"Always"-Raven answered

Robin chuckled.

"Ha-ha, _funny_. Meet me at the Evidence Room; I assume you have your final report ready?"-Robin asked

"You know what assume means?"-Raven asked

"Funny again Raven. Don't you think you are spending too much time around Beast Boy?"-Robin answered

"Whatever, I'm on my way"-Raven said

Robin made his way to the Evidence Room and Raven was arriving to the door as well.

"Good morning, sunshine"-Robin said

Raven glared at Robin and proceeded to open the door.

"If you want the report stop mocking me"-Raven said

"Ok" Robin said and raised his hands in defeat. He knew that it was not a good idea to make Raven upset. He always remembered to stay in her good side.

Raven and Robin walked inside the Evidence Room and closed the door behind them.

"Are you sure no one knows what you are doing here?"-Robin asked

"Positive. Beast Boy almost found out but he is easy to fool"-Raven answered

Robin reached for the examination table and saw the different methods that Raven had used to inspect the attire. He hoped she had found something that could be of use.

"Did you finish examining Red X's clothes?"-Robin asked

"Yes, every inch of it"-Raven answered

"Did you find anything to bring him back?"-Robin asked

Raven shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. Remember that he turned into that dust? There was absolutely nothing left"-Raven answered

Robin's eyebrows furrowed and his hands made fists.

"Dammit! Are you sure? No hairs? Nothing?"-Robin asked desperately

Raven nodded and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing. I'm sorry Robin. I know your intentions are good and all but there was not useful I could find. Maybe this is a sign, you know. Maybe this only proves that things should be left as they are. Maybe bringing him back is not a good idea"-Raven answered

Robin arched an eyebrow and looked at Raven carefully, trying to read her face.

"You wouldn't lie to me, right Raven?"-Robin asked

"And compromise my job position as a Titan? Never!"-Raven answered

Robin did not know if she was trying to ease up the moment, or if she was being sarcastic or if she was telling him the truth. He was sure of one thing, thought, Raven never lied.

"Leave everything as it is, I'll examine it later today before Starfire comes and looks for it to pay her respects to it"-Robin said

Raven removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it on her hips, resting her weight on one leg.

"You haven't told Starfire?"-Raven asked

"No. I don't want to give her false hopes. She has enough problems to deal with already"-Robin answered

"It's not nice to lie to your girlfriend"-Raven said

Robin flinched.

"I am not lying to her; I am just not telling her what I am planning to do"-Robin said

"Same thing"-Raven said

Robin crossed his arms and gave his back to Raven.

"Let's get out of here, it's late. Right after I see that Starfire and the rest are asleep, I'll come back here and start working"-Robin said

Raven began walking towards the door and Robin looked at Red X's clothes.

"Whatever. I've doing this for two days, I need the rest"-Raven said

Robin walked behind Raven and before they opened the door he grabbed Raven's wrist. She stopped and looked back at him.

"Thanks anyway, Raven"-Robin said

Robin let go of Raven's wrist and the door opened. In seconds, both of the Titans had abandoned the room and the dark again filled the room. Suddenly, a tall figure stood up from the floor and held something on her hand. Her eyes lit a bright green and her fists lit the place she was standing.

It was Starfire.

She was holding Red X's communicator on her hand. She had woken up early and had gone to the Evidence Room to see what she needed to prepare the tribute to Red X's memory and found that his clothes were out of his case. She had wondered why were so many objects surrounding his attire and what was his attire doing out of its case. She had bent to take a closer look at the table but when she did, she bumped her knee on the table and Red X's communicator fell to the floor and slid under one of the cabinets. She bent down to pick it up when she heard the door being opened. She heard Robin and Raven's voices and was about to salute her friends when he heard Robin's question.

"Are you sure no one knows what you are doing here?"

Starfire did not like the way he had asked the question and moreover, she knew that if she wanted to find out the reason why Red X's attire was being examined, she had to hide herself from them.

She hid behind the cabinets and made no noise at all. She heard Robin and Raven's conversation.

"_He wants to bring him back"-Starfire thought_

Starfire felt the anger build up inside her. She could not believe that Robin would keep something so important to her a secret. Did he not trust her enough? Did he not trust her at all? Starfire's anger rose held tighter to her communicator. She was not going to allow Robin to play with Red X's clothes anymore.

"He now rests in peace and this is the wayhe must stay"-Starfire whispered

Starfire used her will to not storm out of the room and confront Robin right on the spot. She decided that it was not the time to fight with him; she would come back at night and confront him here. He had many things to explain and whether he liked it or not, he was going to tell Starfire everything tonight; she would make sure of this.

Starfire sighed and began cleaning the examining table. She had enough time before she had to leave with Cyborg and BB to clean the place up and return Red X's uniform back to where it belonged: the clear case on the corner of the room.

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	4. Bonding

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own TT**

**NOTE: Very, very, very slight spoilers from unseen episodes included. Not a big deal but it is my duty to warn you anyway (: **

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**Chapter 3**

Bonding

Starfire, BB and Cyborg walked around the grocery store. Starfire had caught up with them at the main room right after breakfast and right after she had put Red X's clothes back to their case. BB pushed the shopping cart while Cyborg and Starfire choose what food they would buy and what kind of games they would play. Tomorrow's party had to be a big event since they had many things to celebrate.

First of all, Starfire was not dead as they had thought a year ago. She was with them, alive and sharing the festivities of the new year to come with them. Besides the new sporadic enemy they had, every other criminal in Jump City was either contained or gone. The weather was also cooperating: it was not warm but it was not cold, even though the city was covered in pure white snow.

Raven had seemed content about the idea of the party when they told her. It was nice to see that she was opening up to them some more, especially after Trigon's attempt to take over the world. Robin had finally accepted that he loved Starfire. Even though they were not as open with PDA as a normal couple would be, the Titans had been attentive enough to spot Robin holding Starfire's hand while they watched movies in the main room or exchange smiles and blissful gazes between them when they thought nobody was paying attention. Not to mention those times that they had stayed at the roof for hours, or when they left the Tower at the middle of the night to enjoy a nice private dinner followed by a long walk on the park or someplace they felt like going.

Regardless of Starfire's condition, the Titans had much to celebrate. They were together and alive. The Titans would make sure to enjoy this happiness while it lasted as they knew that their happiness could disappear anytime and in just one second.

"Look Cy! Your Cy-BQ is still on the market!"

Cyborg grabbed another bottle of the sauce and smirked. What was he thinking back then?

"Yeah, how else do you think I paid for that Moped of yours for Christmas?"-Cyborg asked

BB's eye wide opened and the image of his Moped came to his mind.

"You mean you actually bought it? I though you had built it yourself!"

"Nope, it was much easier just to order it and have it wrapped up for me"-Cyborg said

Starfire's mind wandered as she tried to think about a way to easily approach Robin about the fact that he was trying to resuscitate Red X. She could not understand how he had kept something so important for her to himself. Not only to himself, but to the other Titans as well…except Raven.

"_Raven"_

She could not believe Raven had accepted to participate in Robin's demented scheme. Why would Robin keep so many secrets from her? Was it because she herself kept secrets from him? He recommended to her to leave the team, then he denied having nightmares about Slade or seeing Slade, and then he tried to bring Red X back. Starfire could not figure out what was going on in Robin's head.

"_This is so confusing"_

"Hey, Star! Don't worry about the party that much. I don't want Robin blaming us for making you worry for nothing"-BB said

Starfire turned her head to face BB and smiled. Robin was taking too much care of her. Maybe he kept Red X's plan a secret to protect her, to really not give her false hopes. BB and Cyborg would have spilled the beans if assigned to that task, but not Raven. Maybe she also needed to talk to Raven. She and Raven had not spent quality girl-time together from long now. Ever since she and Robin started going out, the rest of the Titans had gave them more space. They probably knew that Robin was not so comfortable being with Starfire as his girlfriend around many people, even around their closest friends.

"Is there anything else we require from here?"-Starfire asked

Cyborg checked the list and shook his head. The Titans had been gathering items in the grocery story for almost two hours now. They had to carefully choose the food they were to buy, trying to provide the best meal for each diet style of each Titan, _especially _the vegetarians.

"It's way past noon, we oughta go back home. I'm starving"-BB said

"I am also feeling the need for food. What if order 'pizzas' and take them home?"-Starfire asked

"Boo-yah! Let's get going!"-Cyborg answered

The Titans paid for their groceries and made sure that on their way back to the Tower, they picked up a dozen of pizzas. As BB had said, they need extra energy to store all the food in the kitchen and to clean up the Tower for the guests.

They arrived at Titans Tower and after dividing the bags groceries, they made their way up the elevator to the main room. Once there, they left the bags on the counter and felt laziness take over them at the scene of the many articles that needed storing. BB knew this was his job but Cyborg had to help him because…well, he just had too. He also knew that Starfire would be of great help but the back of his mind nagged him with Robin's orders. Maybe Robin did not have to find out.

"Yo, Star, wanna help us clean?"-BB asked

Cyborg's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and took his closed hands to his mouth, shaking his head.

"Oh, no. Nah! Mmhh, nope. No way in hell Starfire's helping us. You wanna get Robin mad again?"

BB walked towards Cyborg and placed a hand on his shoulder, while they both supported their weight on the back of the couch. Starfire stared at them, actually wanting to be of use for her friends.

"Oh, but I shall make sure Robin does not find out about this. You have helped me plan this celebration, the least I can do is help you store the groceries"

"Yeah, Cyborg, since when are you afraid of Robin. He wouldn't harm us, right? Besides, Star _wants_ to help us. I bet Robin would be more angry if we didn't let Star do what she wants to do"-BB teased

"Seriously, man…I don't think Star…" Cyborg began but was interrupted by Robin's figure that appeared behind the main door's opening. Starfire flinched while BB turned white and Cyborg switched glances between Starfire and BB. Robin walked inside and the door closed. BB faked a smile and talked almost in a read-lines-fake-actor kind of way.

"So that's why we can't let you help us clean this mess, Star. Robin said that you shouldn't do any work you are not supposed to and we totally agree, right Cy?"-BB asked

Cyborg smirked at BB's failed attempt to sound casual and honest. He knew BB was afraid of Robin. This could be fun…for him.

"But I thought you said she should…" Cyborg began but BB slapped a hand on Cyborg's mouth and raised his voice to muffle Cyborg's mumbling.

"I said she should go relax, it was tiring enough for her to go downtown with us. Not that she walked or anything…or flied…she, Uhm…she rode…inside the shopping cart…over…a pillow…" Cyborg's laugh was diminished by BB's hand still on his mouth and Starfire looked at BB and could not help to smile. BB hyperventilated while he looked at Robin's arching eyebrows.

Starfire flew over to Robin and stood in front of him, trying to redirect his murderous glance away from BB. She succeeded. She had to leave the confrontation between them for later.

"Robin, good day to you. We have brought pizza; may you wish to eat with us?"

Robin sent one last angry glance at BB before he returned it to Starfire and smiled.

"Sure, Star. Wanna go tell Raven?"

"I shall be back with her in a moment" Starfire replied and in seconds, she was gone from the room. Robin walked towards BB and Cyborg's direction. BB ran and opened a box of pepperoni pizza and returned with it, standing in front of Robin.

"Here Robin, have the first bite"-BB said nervously

Robin's face remained stern but inside he wanted to burst out in laughter. He had not realized how much power his presence had.

"_Poor Beast Boy, better give him a rest"-Robin thought_

Robin took a slice of pizza from the box and put it in his mouth. BB grabbed a napkin and cleaned Robin's face.

"You don't have to do this Beast Boy. It's ok"-Robin said

Cyborg began laughing and BB sighed in relief. He then gave the pizza box to Robin and threw the napkin to the floor.

"You know you have to clean that up later on, right B?"-Cyborg asked

BB quickly lifted the napkin and after extending it, he put it around his neck.

"Time to eat!"-BB said

Cyborg grabbed a box of pizza for himself and began eating. Robin decided to wait for the girls to come.

Starfire arrived at Raven's door and knocked several times before getting a response from Raven. She opened the door halfway and peek her head out to look to both sides before she spoke.

"What?"-Raven asked

"Raven, we have brought pizza from the parlor. May you wish to join us?"-Starfire asked

Raven rolled her eyes but inside she knew she was in the mood for some pizza, especially after working on her task for two days for nothing. Raven took a few more moments to answer and Starfire thought she was going to decline the invitation.

"Did you guys bring ham?"-Raven asked

Starfire smiled widely and nodded. Raven sighed.

"There is one pizza with ham with your name waiting for you"-Starfire answered

"Ok"-Raven finally said

Raven got out of her room and walked next to Starfire. She noticed she was still not walking.

"How's your foot?"-Raven asked

"I still forget that it is hurt and scratch it sometimes". Raven flinched. Starfire never lost her smile.

"Yet the itching is a sign of healing, yes?"-Starfire asked

"Yup"-Raven answered

"Raven, I have been thinking that we have not spent time together in a long period of time"-Starfire said

"Really? I hadn't even notice" Raven lied. Raven knew Starfire and Robin had spent even more time alone together than they already did before they became an official couple. Even though she would never accept it, she did miss spending time with Starfire. Being the only females at the team, having girl's time, girls' night out and _girly_ talks were sometimes necessary, even for Raven.

"I wish to redeem myself. Would you be interested in a session of meditation accompanied by the talk of girls?"-Starfire asked

Raven faked an annoying face under her hood but was glad that Starfire wanted to spent time with her. Maybe this was the chance to get an insight from her side about the situations that had occurred. Maybe meditation would be good for Starfire.

"Sure, why not"-Raven said

"Wondrous!"-Starfire said and clasped her hands before hugging Raven. Raven's stomach rumbled.

"How many pizzas did you bring?"-Raven asked

"Oh! The pizzas, we must hurry!" Starfire answered and pulled Raven as fast as she could towards the main room. Once they arrived, BB and Cyborg were devouring their share of their pizza while playing game station and Robin was on the table, guarding 5 boxes of pizza while he sat, arm-crossed on a nearby, tilted chair.

As soon as Robin saw Starfire enter the room his face displayed a big, bright smile. He then pointed at the boxes.

"These are for us; don't ask me how I got them. It was an ugly fight"-Robin joked.

Raven and Starfire made their way to the table and after opening two boxes of pizza, each one of a different toping, they proceeded to eat. Raven sat next to Starfire. Starfire sat next to Robin and Robin put his feet on the side of the bottom part of Starfire's chair. Robin took a bite from a slice he had in his hand and then turned to see the ridiculous amount of groceries on the kitchen counter.

"What's with all the food?"

Starfire looked at him with a what-are-you-talking-about face and then realized that Cyborg had not told Robin about the party yet. She might as well tell him, he was the only one that did not know and he kind of had to be the _first _one to know about these things.

"Forgive us Robin. Cyborg, Beast Boy and I have planned a party for the New Year's Eve and we have invited some guests to attend this party"

Robin ate the entire slice in one bite and took a sip from his soda.

"Who did you invite?"

"The Titans of the East"

"Don't worry Star. I think it is a great idea"

Starfire smiled and continued to eat her pizza, as well as Robin and Raven did. They talked about things they wanted to do at the party and other non crime-fighting topics until Robin stood up and walked towards a still sitting Starfire. He bent down and whispered in her ear.

"Do you mind if I go with the guys and play some game station? I haven't played in a while"

"_Is Robin asking me for _permission_?"_

Starfire did not respond immediately, enjoying his presence, his closeness, and his request. If only the others knew how noble Robin could be, they would not be as afraid as they are of him. They would be able to see why Starfire loved him so very much.

"You may play with the other boys"-Starfire whispered back, jokingly.

Robin smirked and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"_That's a switch"-Raven thought_

He then walked towards the couch and jumped over it, sitting in between BB and Cyborg. They were both frantically pressing the buttons of the controls.

"Look _who_ decided to join us"-BB said

"Little lady sent you away? Got tired of you?"-Cyborg asked

"_No_, I just felt like kicking your asses today"-Robin answered

"Yeah, right. You haven't played in a long time. You've lost practice and we have practiced a lot"-BB said

"I don't need to practice to beat you two up"-Robin said

"Oh, yeah…well let's see!"-Cyborg said

BB ran to the bottom of the big screen and opened a drawer. He then took out an extra control and plugged it in the console. He threw it to Robin and all three of them began playing against each other.

Raven and Starfire finished eating and as Starfire had suggested, they proceeded to have girl's quality time for a while. They decided to have some privacy at the roof. Once there, they meditated for a while until Raven felt that Starfire's aura was relaxed again.

"I feel much better, Raven. Perhaps I should meditate more often?"

"It would do you much good. If it helps me, it'll definitely help you even more"

Still in a levitating position, Starfire began felling uneasy about how to begin to talk about the Red X subject with Raven. Raven seldom opened up to anybody, she did not want to ruin the moment.

"Why are you worrying again?"

Starfire blushed at Raven's observation. The irony of it all; Raven always took care of not feeling as many emotions as a human could feel, yet she could easily detect and sympathize with other people's emotions.

"Raven, there is something I must talk to you about"

"What is it?" Raven asked, eyes closed as if half-meditating, half-listening to Starfire.

"It is about Red X"

Raven opened an eye.

"What about Red X?"

"_Please don't say Robin's plan"-Raven thought_

Starfire sighed. Raven closed her eyes again.

"Well, you may remember that in several days, the anniversary of his death will be upon us"

"Yeah, can't believe it's been a year already. Memories are still very clear and present in _all_ of us"

"Agreed. In four days that horrendous date will be here again. As you may already know, I am planning on rendering him a small but meaningful memorial service"

"He deserved no less. Are you asking me for help?"

Starfire thought about not asking Raven anything about Robin's plan and say that she _was _indeed only asking for help. However, her heart screamed to go on as planned. If she had gone this far, what was the point of backing up?

"Not exactly"

"_Oh, crap"-Raven thought_

Raven opened both of her eyes and began getting ready for what she knew was coming.

"You see, I have been thinking about this ceremony for several days now but I was not able to decided whether or not I should go on with it"

"Are you going to do it after all?"

"I am. Yet, I was struck with the dilemma that maybe there is nothing left of him for me to use. I also had not decided on a proper place to pay respects since he is not buried anywhere we can visit. I visited the Evidence Room to see if a tribute was suitable there and encountered myself with his outfit"

"_He's _so_ busted"-Raven thought_

By now, both Raven and Starfire were sitting on the floor of the roof, regardless of the cool breeze and small and scattered amounts of snow that was falling.

"It was then that I realized that there was absolutely nothing left of him"

"_Tell _that_ to Robin"-Raven thought_

"Well, you can still use the outfit, unless you don't want to move it at all. Have you thought about going back to the forest and do the ceremony there?"

Starfire frowned in deep thinking and realized that regardless of her real intent of the conversation, Raven actually had a really nice idea. Why did she not think of the forest before?

"That is a great idea, Raven. Yet, there is more to this conversation"

"Is it?"

"_Dammit!"-Raven thought_

"Indeed, I intent to 'move on' after this tribute and part of this 'moving on' was finally separating myself from the communicator Red X built for me"

"Oh, yeah. I still don't know how you were able to find it after the battle"

"_If only you knew that I still do not understand how I was able to get it from a dream"_ Starfire thought, remembering the last time she ever spoke to Red X. She remembered every single detail of the dream, even the last kiss. Even though she felt she was betraying Robin, she did not have the heart to reject the kiss after what Red X did. How could she deny a dead man's last wish?

"I was not expecting to find it either. Anyhow, I went to the Evidence Room, after I had decided to leave the communicator there, inside the glass case, as a first step for my healing process"

"Were you able to?"

"I was not"

"You are still not ready? That's why you couldn't leave it there?"

"No"

Then?"

Starfire pause, trying to make Raven understand where this conversation was going, it was difficult to confront Raven.

"I heard the conversation between Robin and you"

Raven held her breath and then sighed deeply. She closed her eyes and expected Starfire to begin blurting out how bad of a friend she was for aiding Robin in his crazy idea and for not telling her truth the minute she found out about it. However, Starfire did not lose her temper at any time. She remained calmed and waited for her words to sink in on Raven's head.

"How much did you hear?"

"Every single word"

"I thought I had locked the door"

"Robin taught me the override code"

"_Your love actions backfire, Robin"-Raven thought_

"I didn't see you there. Were you hiding?"

"I did not intend to do so at the beginning. After I saw the clothes on the table I began analyzing what the instruments were for. I accidentally dropped the communicator and it went under a cabinet. When I reached down to seek for it you came in and your first words of the conversation made me want to stay undercover"

"Are you upset?"

Starfire frowned and Raven bit her lip.

"I was, very much. I felt betrayed by my friend and my boyfriend. I did not, and still do not understand the reasons why something of this magnitude was kept from me"

"Does Robin know that you know?"

"No, and he obviously does not know that you know that I know. Please, refrain yourself from acknowledging him. I wish to speak with him first"

"I know you think Robin should've told you his plans since day one but he is very fond of you and he didn't want to hurt you more. Guess he still did, somehow"

"All I ask from him is his trust"

"Do you trust him?"

"Absolutely"

"So why haven't you told him about Slade?"

Starfire gasped and closed her hand onto a trembling fist. How does Raven know?

"How do you…?"

"I know many things, you know?"

"I now do"

Silence.

"I know you may get upset at me Starfire but, while you were sleeping at Robin's room, I got into your mind. You were having trouble sleeping and my intentions were to help you sleep well but then I saw all these images, and the fear. Maybe I saw more than I should have"

Starfire's head fell. She felt ashamed of her recurring nightmares and visions. It was not like she did not try to get over them, she just had not found a way to overcome them, yet.

"You really should tell Robin about your trauma. You know all this is somewhat normal, right?"

"N-normal?"

"Yes. As I said, I know many things. You are experiencing PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder"

"Dr. Jones also said my condition was normal for what I had experienced but I could not believe it. I still do not"

"Well, believe it. Red X's death was only the culmination of that awful and painful experience. It all began when we found out about the existence of Red X and continued with all those situations we encountered along the way"

"Emotions are very powerful fuels for Tamareans. They can make us very strong but also very weak. Can this disorder's effect be worse for me as a highly emotion-driven person?"

"I think it is. Visions are not common in earthlings that suffer from this medical condition"

Starfire looked at the floor. Raven sure did know many things. She was glad to be having this conversation with her.

"Starfire, you know that all of us experienced this at some degree. But you and Robin have it bad"

"Robin suffers from this as well?"

"I think _almost_ as bad as you. He tries to hide it but I can tell"

Starfire bit her lip. She knew there was something wrong with Robin. Why did he deny it?

"_What is he trying to prove?"-Starfire thought_

"That he is strong"-Raven said

"Excuse me?"

"Robin is trying to prove to you that he is strong. He wants to be strong…for you"

Even though Starfire was an alien and unusual stuff was normal to her, it sometimes scared her that Raven could read minds.

"Oh, Raven. I wish to help him but I cannot even help myself. What am I to do? I do not wish for Robin to suffer what I suffer. I love him so dearly I wish to protect him for everything and everyone, make right what is wrong. I do not wish for him to live this agony. Why does he not tell me the truth? Does he not understand all that I just said?"

"He does, because he feels the same way about you"

A cold breeze surrounded the girls and made them shiver. It was a sign that it was time to go back in. They had been outside enough already. The day had begun to end.

"Why don't we go back inside? I'm freezing my ass here"

"Yes. Let us return to the warmth of our home"

Raven and Starfire went back to the main room and found the three male Titans still playing. The groceries had being put on their place, at least. As Robin had predicted, he had kicked their butt very badly.

"I don't want to play with you anymore"-BB said

"Me neither"-Cyborg said

"But why? I was almost gonna let you win this time"-Robin said

"Shut up. Go do the stuff couples do with your girlfriend. Let us play alone"-BB said

Robin laughed and Cyborg shook his head. BB never took loosing so easily. Robin looked at the clock and it read 6:30pm. He still was at least fours hours away from being able to have the privacy to examine Red X's outfit. What to do to kill time and tire the Titans?

"What if we watch some movies?"-Robin suggested

"Movie night? Let me think about it…ok"-BB said

"Alright!"-Cyborg said

"I think I am going to leave to my…" Raven began but Starfire pulled her cloak from behind.

"Raven, it is not movie night if all of us are not present"-Starfire said

"But I really don't want to…" Raven was cut short by Cyborg and BB carrying her to the couch and sitting her between them, big smiles on the two male Titans's faces appeared. Raven's eyes squinted and moved from her left to her right, glaring at her fellow Titans guarding her and preventing her from leaving the couch any time soon. Robin and Starfire enjoyed the scene.

"What are we to watch?"-Starfire asked

To everyone's surprise, including Starfire, Robin held Starfire's hand and walked to the DVD stand and began reading the titles of the movies. The Titans reacted to every single one of them but never agreed on one.

"I give up, let's just see what's on TV"-Robin said

Robin led Starfire to the couch and sat next to Cyborg. Starfire sat next to Robin and after he claimed the remote for himself, he put an arm around Starfire and extended his legs on the table. Starfire put her legs on the couch and made herself comfortable in Robin's embrace, putting her left arm behind him and her right arm on his stomach.

BB stick his tongue out while Cyborg smirked and Raven continued her squinting, waiting for the perfect opportunity for her getaway.

"_That's…weird"-Raven thought_

It was not normal for Robin to be so open about his relationship with Starfire. Yet, it seemed that he was becoming more and more comfortable with the 'public display of affection', even though their "public" consisted only of their friends.

"_Maybe it's the time of the year"-Cyborg thought_

Robin flipped the channels until they found the classical horror-zombie movie Cyborg and BB liked. Once they found something like this, it was hard for them to let go of it. Robin decided to let them have it their way; he was not really interested in the movie. He just wanted to occupy the Titans' minds in something else and be able to enjoy Starfire's presence. Robin slowly caressed Starfire's shoulder with his hand. Starfire held him closer.

Even though Starfire enjoyed the company, she felt a little bit of awkwardness at the moment. Why was Robin being so thoughtful? I was not that he was not nice with her on a daily basis but this was…

"_Just plain freaky"-Starfire thought_

An hour passed and the movie was still on. Raven had tried escaping a few times but either Cyborg or BB had stopped her by pulling her cloak, or tackling her to the floor or just pressing her between them. Regardless of the ways they had to keep Raven with them, these acts did not bother Raven that much. She was glad to know that her friends enjoyed her company and wanted her to stay.

Starfire's hand had gone from Robin's stomach to his chest and rested there for a while now. She was enjoying the movie and had become interested in the resolving of the plot but she still kept a close eye at Robin. He was looking at the screen and sometimes chuckled at the right moments but she could tell that his mind was someplace else.

"That's it! I need a bathroom break"-Raven said

BB and Cyborg arched their eyebrows, doubting that Raven truly had to go to the restroom. They both crossed their arms.

"I know what you are thinking. I'll be back, ok? Just let me go"-Raven said

Cyborg and BB allowed Raven to stand up and leave the room without trying to stop her. The Titans burst out in laughter after she left the room.

1111111111111111111111111

Time had passed by and the clock read "10:15pm". Raven had returned, fifteen minutes later, as she had promised. Another movie had begun as part of the horror movies marathon but the Titans looked tired by now. Raven was the first to call it quits.

"Ok, I've been here long enough. I'm leaving for the night"

Raven stood up and walked to the door. Before she left she heard the Titans said their good nights to her and then she left. She decided to take a long bath before sleeping.

Cyborg gave a quick look at Robin and Starfire and noticed that Starfire was asleep in Robin's arms. He decided it was time to go. He poked BB's ribs and after he caught his attention, he pointed to Robin's direction with his eyes. BB understood immediately and stood up.

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving. Good night everyone"-Cyborg said

Robin turned to see BB and Cyborg stand from the couch and followed them until Cyborg stopped at the middle of the room, as if he had realized that he had forgotten something important. Cyborg then turned and faced Robin.

"Yo, Robin, is it safe if we leave you alone with Star?"

Robin frowned.

"What do you mean safe?"-Robin asked

"Well, after what happened between you two, _twice_, in this week we decided to make sure it didn't happen again. You know, for both of ya all's sake"-Cyborg answered

Robin looked at Starfire and combed her hair with his fingers. He did not think Starfire or he would go crazy tonight. And if any of they did, he was sure they could handle it…well, he hoped.

"We'll be fine"

"Ok, but you know, we are here"-BB said

Robin nodded and returned his attention to Starfire while Cyborg and BB left the room. Both of them left for their rooms and quickly fell into a deep sleep state.

Back at the main room, Robin still held Starfire. He knew he had to put her to bed real soon so he would be able to do what he needed to do in the Evidence Room. Nonetheless, he did not truly want to leave her side, not yet. He wanted to hold her and enjoy the moment, like this morning when he had woken up, next to her on her bed. He just was not ready to let go of her yet, even if 'letting go' only meant for her to be in her room and for him to be someplace else. Since when had he become so needy of her presence? Actually, the real question was, since when had he become so needy of her as a whole?

Maybe he had always needed her but had not allowed himself to accept it until now. He fell for her the minute she came into his life. He had needed her all along, even before they met.

Starfire began to slightly fidget. She had fallen into a deeper sleep; it was only then that her nightmares came back. Robin hated the feeling of being unable to do something about it. He wished he could jump into her mind and stop whatever it was that truncated her sleep. He might not be able to help her from the inside, but he was still able to help her from the outside.

He slowly carried Starfire and put her on his lap, his arms surrounding her and preventing her from falling. He buried her head on his neck and hugged her as strong as he could without waking her or hurting her. She tried to break free but slowly stopped. He knew she was not trying to break free from him but from her nightmare. He was glad to know that his presence eased her troubled mind. He also knew that _her_ presence eased his.

"_I can't believe I almost lost you"_

Actually, he had lost her, or thought he did until that last fight with Red X. He remembered feeling mad, and sad and hurt and lost, among other feelings of despair, when he found out she had supposedly died. Having her with her at this very moment made him impossible to believe that he had actually continued to live without her back then. He did not think he would be able to stand up again if that sort of tragedy occurred once more. However, he knew that the only reason he had held his head up high was to seek revenge from the man that caused her death. Would he be able to do it all over again or would he fall into the deepest sorrow known by mankind and stay there for the rest of his life?

He did not know but he certainly did not want to find out. He rather throw the question to the wind and leave it unanswered than not be able to feel her breathing as he did right now. He would make sure that nothing and no one took her away from him. She was his and he was hers and they needed each other to live. _He_ needed her to live. He then realized that he had been holding and staring at her for more than half and hour now. He had to get to work and for a brief moment, how much he hated it.

"_As long as we are together, we'll be ok" _Robin remembered telling her during that "trip" to the strange alien planet. He truly meant it and knew it to be true, this moment being undeniable proof of that statement. They were together and everything was in place in the world. He had stayed like this all night but that little voice on the back of his head nagged him that he had work to do. Nobody else was going to do it for him. Well, maybe Raven but after having her work for two straight days to find nothing, he doubted she would do it all over again.

Robin stood up while he held Starfire in his arms and after doing almost impossible stunts, he turned off the TV and left the main room.

He walked to Starfire's room and opened the door. He reached for the light switch only to realize that he had not fixed it yet. He had promised her to do it today and he did not: Bad, bad Robin.

"_Tomorrow, for sure"_

Robin used the little light from coming from Starfire's window and put her on her bed, took her shoes off, put her in a position that seemed comfortable, covered her with the blankets and kissed her forehead before leaving her room. He then headed for his room to pick some examining gadgets that he had. He was determined to find something on those clothes and he would use any instrument required to do so.

Robin made his way to his room and after collecting the required instruments, he arrived at the Evidence Room. He opened the door and before looking both sides, he entered the room and closed the door, making sure he locked it as he did.

"_Now, to work"_

Robin turned to face the examining table only to see that it was gone. He stopped cold for a second and realized that Red X's outfit was back to its case and everything had been put away.

"Raven"-He whispered

"It was not Raven," A tall shadowy figure spoke from a corner of the room. "She has nothing to do with this. I was the one who put everything back to its place" Robin just stood there, recognizing the sweet voice that was speaking to him. The same voice whose owner he had just put to sleep.

"Starfire, why are _you _here?"

"That is the same question that comes to my mind"

Starfire made her way out of the shadows and stood in front of Robin.

"I am…I was just…I heard a noise and came to check" Robin answered, quickly realizing how lame his excuse was. He had not bought it and Starfire had not bought either.

"No more lies, Robin. I know the truth"

Robin's shoulder's tensed. What true was Starfire talking about? What lies was she talking about?

"What truth?"

"Stop these games. I know that you plan to resuscitate Red X. This cannot happen"  
Robin flinched. He threw the instruments in his hands to the nearest table and walked closer to Starfire. She had to look up to see his face. When had he gotten so much taller than her?

"How did you find out? _When_ did you find out?"

"Let us just say I was at the right place at the right time. Now, do not waste any more time with useless explanations. I wish to know the reasons why you kept this from me"

Robin sighed and shook his head, looking at floor in defeat. He should have seen _this_ coming.

"Look, Star, I didn't want to tell you because if this didn't work, you would have been more hurt than you are right now. I know I should've told you as soon as I began this but I just couldn't"

"I thought we had gotten over the trust issues, Robin. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because, well…I know the Red X's issue is a very…difficult topic for you, for _us_, especially for _me_. You have no idea how much I suffered when he was around. I always worried that one day he would leave and you would follow him…and guess what?"

"It did happen, but for reasons that none of us were able to control back then"

"Now I know those reasons but while I didn't, it was…just pure hell. I…I am to blame for his death, you know. At the end I realized he was not such a bad guy, he was not bad, at all. I wanted to give him a chance to live the life I took away from him. It was not my decision of whether he deserved to live or…not"

"And it is not your decision either about whether or not should he return to us. He is gone Robin. He choose that destiny, the least that we could do is let him rest in peace; the peace he was not able to find here on Earth"

"Starfire, please understand. I am supposed to be the good guy, the hero, the role model for _kids_. I killed a man, I took his life. I'm probably going to hell for _that_"

"If you do go to hell, I shall make sure to come down and visit you"

Robin fell silent for a moment. Was she being serious or was she trying to ease up the mood? Starfire took his hands in hers.

"Robin, it has been difficult enough to let go of those terrible moments, we have not absolutely recovered from them. Perhaps, we are far too away to even begin to heal ourselves completely, or to comprehend the unearthly factors of the turning of the past events. All I am saying is that you have to stop blaming yourself for his death, and I have to stop blaming myself for his misery"

"So, you don't want him back?"

"I want to let go"

That was not really an answer to his question, but Robin decided to leave the situation as it was. It had been hard enough to express his thoughts and feelings to her; he did not need to make the current communication gap between them even bigger. He hugged her as to wanting to let her know that he agreed-- correction, he did not agree but he was willing to comply with her request. If this was what made her happy, then this was the way things were going to be.

Robin broke the hug and kissed Starfire. She kissed back and spent a few moments like this until Starfire broke the kiss and yawned.

"Are my kisses that boring to you?"

Starfire giggled.

"What are you talking about, Robin? Do you doubt your kissing _techniques_?"

"Well, no but…you know what? Whatever, fine, be that way. Yawn between kisses"

Starfire laughed even harder. Robin pulled her into another long and passionate kiss. Robin made sure the kiss did not leave her yawning this time. He carefully pushed her towards the table and pressed her against it; while he deepened the kiss and made sure his upper body pressed her to the table. Starfire began to moan.

"_Yeah, now you ain't yawning are you?"-Robin thought_

Starfire moaned again and tried to push Robin away from her but he held her tighter. Starfire used her strength to at least break the kiss and panted heavily, her face flushed, trying to catch her breath. Robin smiled, proud of seeing her like that. He saw she wanted to say something but the lack of oxygen did not quite allow her to. He was not going to let he talk _now_!

"Robin…wait"

"No, I wont" Robin replied and kissed her again. This time, the kiss did not last as long as she again pushed him away.

"Robin, please listen"

"We talk too much" Robin joked and got ready to kiss her again but she stopped him. He then realized that she was being serious. She wanted him to stop. He looked hurt and she could tell.

"You…didn't like it?"

Starfire took a deep breath before speaking and Robin anxiously waited for her response.

"Do not get me wrong…this was…" she blushed "…quite exhilarant, yet I am trying to tell you that my back is on your gadgets and it is very uncomfortable"

Robin's eyes widened and his face filled with embarrassment. There he was trying to be passionate and he ended up looking dumb in front of her. He gently pulled her back and looked at the gadgets from Starfire's shoulder. He then looked down and checked her back for any damage.

"I'm so sorry, Star. I would be more careful next time"

"Next time?"

"There will be a next time, right?"

"As long as it involves a more comfortable piece of furniture I do not see any reason not to try this some other time"

Robin smiled at her response and kissed her neck. Starfire responded by whispering in his ear.

"Do you mind having me over tonight?"

Robin gulped. What did she mean by that?

"I…Uhm…what?"

"Do I need to remind you that you broke my light switch? I think the least you can do is to invite me over to sleep with you as I may trip and fall for the lack of illumination in my dwelling"

Robin chuckled. It had been a long time since Starfire teased him this way. What did the light have to do with her sleeping at his bed? Absolutely nothing! Yet, he did not care, he would play along.

"I would like that very much"

Starfire grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door and after leaving the Evidence Room, they made their way to his room. Robin opened the door and led her inside. She followed him and after getting ready to sleep, they jumped onto his bed, facing each other sideways.

"How is your foot doing? I see you opt to fly, more than usual. Want me to take a look?"

Starfire shook her head.

"Tomorrow, for sure"

"_Maybe I can forget about fixing the switch again tomorrow"-Robin thought_

Robin put his right hand on her waist and slowly pushed her until her back touched the bed. He rested his weight on his other elbow and closed the distance between their faces. He kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose before kissing her lips. She kissed back and stroked the hair of the back of his head with one hand while the other hand caressed his back, up and down. After a while, they both stopped and he rested his forehead on hers, both breathing heavily but with smiles on their faces.

"Tomorrow is a big day Robin. We should begin our slumber"

Robin nodded, still not letting go of her. She did not let go either.

"What time are the Titans East coming?"

"About 6 in the afternoon"

"Good, I don't think I want to be up early tomorrow"

"Oh, but we must. There is much to do before they arrive"

"Star, there are five people living in this Tower. I think we can manage"

"Why is it that you do not wish to be the early bird as you always are?"

"Because…" He kissed her. "I want us to be alone for a while. We haven't had the chance to really enjoy each other's company without something or _someone_ interrupting us"

Somehow, BB always managed to find them kissing when they least expected. It was funny at the beginning but the more it happened, the more annoying it got.

"You are right. I also desire to be just you and me, alone"

"Ok, one sec" Starfire looked at Robin and his sudden change of tone of voice and wondered what he was thinking. He got on top of her for a second to reach his nightstand and unplugged the alarm clock. He then returned to the spot he had been before moving and smiled.

"Ok, done"

Starfire giggled and pulled him to her face to give him one last, long kiss before going to sleep. Robin made himself comfortable behind Starfire and surrounded her waist with both of his arms. He kissed her head before closing his eyes and she snuggled closer to him before she closed hers. Before they knew it, they had fallen asleep, as comfortable as the night before.

111111111111111

Her system told her it was time to wake up. Suddenly, her ears were able to listen again and her awareness was slowly returning. She took a deep breath, followed by a small yawn. She tried to open her eyes but only one responded, well, only half of one did. She raised her sight to see her surroundings and the more she looked, the more her eyes responded until she was able to open both eyes.

Her consciousness was almost completely back only to realize she was laying on her back on Robin's bed.

"_Robin"_

She turned to her right and was disappointed to see the vacant space next to her. Robin was gone. She had no idea of what time it was since Robin had unplugged the clock and she did not use to carry a watch with her. Her communicator was at her room as well. Starfire sighed and turned to her right, her left hand touching the blanket on the spot where Robin had been during the night.

"_It is already cold. So much for not wanting to be up early"_

Starfire decided that since Robin was not there to keep her company, she was going to leave. She began to push herself up with her arms when the door opened. She turned to see Robin entering the room with a food tray on his hands.

"Good morning, Star. I'm glad to see you woke up by yourself. All the way over here I was worrying about how to wake you up "

She smiled and slapped herself mentally for doubting Robin for even a second. He walked towards her and put the tray on the bed.

"Sorry to leave you wake by yourself, but I wanted to make you breakfast"

Starfire's smile grew even bigger and looked at the tray. He had made a good portion of breakfast for both. He had also brought juice, milk and toast.

"This is…so thoughtful of you. I…" She happily looked at the content of the tray again. "Thank you"

"Don't thank me until you taste it"

"Worry not, Robin. With the amount of hunger I have, this breakfast shall taste like glory"

Robin smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment" Starfire giggled. He began separating the plates and after giving Starfire her plate, drinks and toast, he served himself his part. They slowly began eating, enjoying each other's company and to Starfire's surprise, his cooking was not half bad.

"_This is pretty good"_

Robin stole a glance at Starfire whenever he could. She was not in her usual attire. She had changed into her pink pajamas and with her messy hair and still half asleep face, she looked beautiful to him. Starfire on the other hand, also took her chances to steal looks from him and stared at his bare chest. He was only wearing blue sweat pants and his mask.

"What time is it, Robin?"

"Too early for you to leave my room yet"

She took a bite of her toast and cleaned her face with a napkin. Robin copied her. She then took a sip of her orange juice and smiled. He did the same. She then put some food on her mouth, chewed three times and gulped. He copied what she had done. Starfire laughed.

"How old are you today, Robin? Eight"

"As old as you want me to be"

"_What is wrong with him?"_ Not that his attitude bother her at all but she was not used to see this version of Robin. He was being childish and spontaneous. The always calculating Robin was gone and was replaced by a free-spirit Robin. Perhaps she was dreaming?

"So, what are you guys planning to do to pass the time?"

His question took her completely off-guard. It took her some seconds to realize where he was coming from.

"Cyborg, Beast Boy and I have decided to leave the games as surprises. You shall have to wait and find out until the rest of the guests do"

"So…you guys plan to do games?"

"Yes, how did you…I just said it, right?"

"Pretty much, yeah"

"I am quite the secret keeper, am I not?"

"It's ok. It's not even 9am yet"

"So that is the current time?"

"We are meant for each other"

Starfire frowned at the apparent change of topic. They were talking about time and games and suddenly the chat had turned into them?

"Why do you say that?"

"'Cause neither of us can keep a secret"

They both laughed.

"What are we to do after this?"

"You mean after eating?"

"Yes"

Robin frowned as in deep thought. He tapped his chin with his index finger and the bed with his other hand.

"We get ride of these trays and go back to bed"

"You want to go back to sleep? We may not wake up at time to help our friends prepare for the party!"

"I never said we _had_ to back to sleep, I just said to go back to bed. We'll do whatever you want to do"

Starfire looked at Robin in disbelief. If someone saw them at the moment, that person would have never believed that they had communication or any other type of problems between them. Everything was…so perfect.

"Robin, I appreciate the food and the…hospitality but curiosity abounds. Why are you acting like this? This is not you and before you think I ask because I dislike the attitude allow me to tell you that I enjoy all this very much"

Robin finished his breakfast and put the tray with empty plate and glassed on the floor. He then slid across the bed to sit next to her. She still had some food to eat and she kept eating it. He stretched himself and laid on his side, facing Starfire and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand as he spoke.

"You have no idea of how grateful I am of having the chance to be with you like this right now. Especially after everything that happened. A year ago you were not with me. I thought of you and I missed you so much and even though you were always in my mind every single second, your presence was not here and I hurt"

Starfire nodded in understanding and quickly put her tray on the floor, next to Robin's tray. She returned to her place and smiled at Robin to indicate that he now had her undivided attention.

"I kept thinking that you were with…him and had no idea what you were doing" Starfire gave him a quizzical look. "Ok, maybe I imagined some things but you don't want to know" Starfire shook her head. Robin continued to talk.

"I don't know if you can understand what I felt. It's was like I was so close to be with you and then something happened. I had spent years trying to open up to you about my feelings and in just days, these other guy took you away from me. Even though the other Titans were here I still felt a hole inside me. I know it wasn't hunger because I ate, and it wasn't lack of air either because I was still breathing"

Starfire placed a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes, feeling her gentle touch.

"I know it's hard to understand. Don't try to make sense of it because not even I could make sense of what I was feeling"

"I understand perfectly, Robin. I felt the same way all that time"

"How did you hold up? I was having a hard time even to move around"

"The same way you did. I held onto the voice on the back of my head that told me that I was to see you again, someday. That I should hang on and be patient for a greater reward was awaiting me in the end"

"Do you consider this, us, your reward?"

"I consider your mere existence in my life as my reward. _Us_ was an unexpected but very pleasant surprise"

"I can't believe I was so afraid of this, of you, of me, of you and me, of _us_"

"You are not afraid any longer?"

"Just a little"

"Me too"

Starfire slipped under the covers and then pulled Robin's arm to indicate him to do the same. They were now facing each other like they did last night. He pulled closer to her and put his arms around her waist. She put one arm around his neck and the other around his shoulder. She slowly kissed him for a few minutes and then they stopped. They got as close as they could without letting go of each other's embrace and closed their eyes.

"Let us just stay like this for a while, shall we?"

He held her even tighter.

"I wouldn't want to have it any other way, Starfire"

She tightened her grip as well.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTA/N: I was going to include the party in this chapter but the R/S moments took longer than I thought. I thought I oughta give them a rest of everything and everyone. I had them being in the middle of unpleasant situations since the beginning of the story and thought it was time to give them a break. LOL. I'll start working on the party for next chapter…thanks for reading!


	5. On the Roof

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own TT**

**Note: **Mas and Menos will be speaking during this chapter. To make matters easier I will write their dialogues already translated and will write them in between . They are still speaking Spanish but we will save a lot of time if the translation is done immediately.

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

**Chapter 4**

On the Roof

Raven watched Cyborg and BB play video games, as usual, in the big screen. She was in a corner, as usual, meditating or _trying_ to meditate. She sometimes faked meditation to be around her friends for she enjoyed their company and sometimes, _sometimes_, she laughed at BB's comments when he lost against Cyborg, and also at Cyborg's comic remarks, but she will never let them know. This morning was supposed to be a usual and typical day in Titans Tower but she knew it was not. First of all, today was New Year's Eve and they were going to have a big party that included the visit of the Titans East. Secondly, Robin and Starfire were not to be seen since yesterday night and it was already 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

At some degree, the Titans knew were they might be: Robin or Starfire's room. They did not know exactly what they were doing but knew not to disturb them. Raven heard someone in the kitchen when she was on her way to make herself an herbal tea. She thought it had been Cyborg or BB making themselves breakfast but later on in the day she found out that it had not been either of them. Her last options were Robin or Starfire making each other breakfast.

"_At least they are together. They need it"-Raven thought_

Raven's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the opening door. Robin and Starfire appeared at the door, smiling and holding hands. Raven acted like she had not seen them and Cyborg and BB kept playing. Their only sign of the acknowledgement of the couple's presence was an arching of eyebrows and a small smirk on their faces. Cyborg whispered into BB's ear.

"Seems we were not the only ones having fun today, right BB?"

"Seems like it, Hahaha"

Regardless of what the other Titans thought, Robin and Starfire had not been doing anything else but talking, laughing, and a little bit of kissing during that time they were locked up in Robin's room; nothing else. Robin whispered in Starfire's ear and after she nodded, Robin walked towards Raven and Starfire joined the other Titans at the couch.

"Hello friends! Are you ready to prepare for the party?"

Cyborg paused the game and faced Starfire.

"Sure thing, Star. We have enough time to decorate the place and organize the last details of the games and stuff. We'll leave the food 'till the end, it'll cook while they are here to be ready by the time we decided to eat"

Starfire clasped her hands and nodded. Cyborg returned to his game, saying that it was going to be the last before they began getting ready for their guests. BB swore he was going to win _this_ time around. On the other side of the room, Robin watched Raven meditate with his arms crossed, resting his back on the wall. Raven finally got annoyed by his stern look and stopped meditating.

"Can I help you, Robin?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

Raven held her breath.

"_He knows! He knows I know Starfire knows!"-Raven thought_

Robin rested his right foot on the wall and never moved his gaze from Raven. He was not mad at all; he just wanted to see Raven's reaction to _his_ fake reaction. Finally Raven spoke.

"I can…_try_"

"Hard enough?"

"I guess"

Robin smirked and Raven did not know how to interpret his face. Was his small smile stating that he was ok or that he was planning an evil revenge against her for allowing Starfire to find out their secret?

"She knows, Raven. She confronted me last night at the Evidence Room"

"She did?"

"Yes, she did. Not only that but she asked me to not go any further with my plan"

"What did you tell her?"

"I accepted her request"

"Really? Just like that?"

Robin remembered the argument they have had before he finally decided to grant Starfire's wishes. She had that kind of power over him and they both knew it very well.

"She has a charm for it, you know"

"A charm? If that's how you want to call it, it's fine with me"

"Actually I call it…" Robin was cut off by Raven "I don't want to know."

Robin smiled. He enjoyed teasing Raven as much as he enjoyed stomping over Cyborg and BB in videogames.

"Starfire and I had a long talk. Maybe better than the one you guys had on the roof"

Raven closed her eyes and resumed her meditation. She was glad that they had finally opened up to each other instead of avoiding the issues. She could feel their easiness and their happiness. Whatever it was that they had done, it had served its purpose: bringing them even closer together.

"Is there anything else that I should know?"-Raven asked

"Not really, I just came to thank you for everything you've done for us. I really appreciate you talking to Star and to me. You are a good person, Raven"

"Don't mention it"

"Really Raven…" Raven cut Robin out. "Seriously, don't mention it…_ever_ again."

Robin lifted his hands in defeat. Raven was not the one to accept compliments that lightly but they all knew she was a great person deep inside and that she really cared for them, _very_ deep inside and very much.

"Ok, Raven. Sorry"

Raven began chanting her meditation words and Robin understood the cue. Raven wanted to be left alone. He then walked to the couch just as Cyborg was defeating BB again. Cyborg danced while Starfire clapped and BB growled.

"Let's just start decorating"-BB said

With this, the Titans divided chores and began getting ready for tonight's party. Robin had been right. If all of them worked together, they were bound to make it on time.

111111111111111111111

The door bell rang at exactly 6 in the afternoon and the Titans East were received by a warm welcome from Cyborg and BB. Raven stood a few feet behind these two. They had just finished decorating and getting ready for their guest's arrival. Just seconds ago before they rang the bell, the last details had been taken care of. Robin and Starfire were not at the living room. With all the moving around, Starfire had hurt her foot and the wound had open again.

Robin had carried Starfire out of the room and took her to her room. Robin then left for his room. Since they all just had finished their preparations, they decided that Starfire and Robin would get ready first and then come back to the main room. After that, the rest of the Titans would leave for their rooms and get ready for the party while Robin and Starfire gave a tour of the Tower to the Titans East.

In the living room, the Titans East made themselves comfortable on the couch.

"Where are Robin and Starfire?"-Bumblebee asked

"They are getting ready for your _tour_"-BB answered

"Tour?"-Aqualad asked

"Yeah, you see, we were kind of tight on our schedule so we kind of divided the welcoming. They will be here any minute. Sorry for that"-Cyborg answered

"No problem"-Speedy said

The Titans East surveyed their surroundings. Even though Cyborg had modeled their Tower based on Titans Tower, the scenery was still different. Titans Tower was, in a way, brighter than their Tower. They did not know if it was the location, the city or the colors inside. Cyborg had mentioned back then that Robin had not allowed him to do certain things around the Tower. Maybe if Robin had allowed Cyborg to do as he pleased with the building, the two Towers might have looked more similar than they did now.

Their eyes turned to the small kitchen. The counter was full of boxes. Some contained candy; some contain canned food, and some others they could not tell. Even though there were many objects on top of the counter, they could tell that these objects had a purpose for being where they were. The stove was on and food was being cooked. The oven was also on and slowly baked what seemed like a cake in its insides. Party hats were kept inside a clear plastic bag on the table on the opposite side of the room.

Cans of soda, bottled water and lemonade and punch bottles were kept inside an ice chest under the table. Now that they looked closer, the table would only fit six people at most. There were 10 of them…where were the rest of them supposed to eat? Outside? The floor? The roof? On top of the table there were other bottles that held warm milk and chocolate milk. The pouring coffee could be heard and the smell of it was enchanting. Water was also being heated…they could not forget Raven's tea now could they?

On one of the chairs a piñata could also be seen, its shape not very visible, though. On top of the entrance to the main room from the rest of the Tower, a big colorful sign with the names of all the Titans, including the visiting ones, hung from one side of the wall to the other. The sign had the words "Happy New Year!" in the middle and the names of the heroes and small doodles of them around the central message; and hanging from the entrance, the classic mistletoe could be seen. Balloons, confetti, whistles and other party objects were scattered around the room, adding more party-like environment to the already cheerful ambience. On the other side of the room, right next to the couch, a natural Christmas tree stood beautifully adorned from top to bottom. Starfire had been the one eager to put a Christmas tree since in her planet, such custom did not exist.

To top things up, it had begun to snow, adding more magic to that already magical night. The scene of the city covered in pure white snow that could be seen from the big glass wall in front of the couch was breathtaking. It was as if they were watching and oversized postcard. When the Titans East got the invitation to spend New Year's Eve at Titans Tower, they did not know what to expect. The two superhero teams had not spent too much time together and even though they had read each other's profiles, they did not know the real people behind the descriptions they had read. At this point, it was true to say that this was the first time they would actually socialize with their role models in such a personal level since they had met each other.

The combination of the smells was so pleasant and the vibes that flew from the Titans were very much amicable and warming. The Titans East never thought they could feel so much at home so far away from what _they_ called home. They have had their doubts about the encounter but now they were glad they had not declined the invitation. This seemed to be a good start for a great evening and a new year.

"I can see you guys planned this for long"-Speedy said

"Oh, this is just us…improvising" BB said and Raven hit him on the face with a couch pillow she moved with her powers.

"Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy were the ones to come up with the idea. Robin and I only helped with the decorations"-Raven said

"Actually, it was Starfire's idea. B and I just helped her through it"-Cyborg said

"Speaking of which, how is Starfire doing? I heard she is taking a break from the team?"-Aqualad asked

"Yeah, something like that. I think she is doing much better"-Raven said

There was silence for a moment. What could they talk about? Neither of them wanted to start talking about crime-fighting or how obsessive and tiring their job could get some times. Tonight they, all of them, just wanted to be normal teenagers for once. Fortunately, Robin and Starfire appeared at the front door. All eyes turned to them. Both teens rapidly made their way to the couch to welcome their guests.

"Friends Titans of the East, welcome to our home!"-Starfire said

"Welcome Titans" Robin said while Starfire flew from one Titan to the other and fiercely hugged them one by one.

"_So it is true…opposites _do_ attract"-Bumblebee thought_

Bumblebee smirked at the thought. It was amusing to watch how Starfire was all joy and happiness while Robin was all seriousness and determination. Just by the way they had greeted them; Bumblebee could tell that Robin spoke with his mind while Starfire spoke with her heart.

"_What can _she_ possible see in _him_?"-Aqualad thought_

"Hey! Weren't you guys supposed to kiss under the mistletoe?"-BB asked

Robin and Starfire blushed. Starfire looked at the floor and Robin pulled his collar to allow the heat on his face to disappear.

"Uhm…er –yeah…we…ah…" Robin could not believe he was actually stuttering again. When Starfire and Robin first began dating, Robin acted like an idiot whenever the Titans mentioned the words "kiss" and Starfire's name in the same sentence. It actually took him some time to get over his shyness of holding Starfire's hand or hugging her or even touching her face. Kissing in front of the Titans, even if it was a small peck on the cheek, was the most difficult thing he had to do. He was not ready to do it in front of the just arrived guests…maybe later on. Robin's thoughts were interrupted by a small peck that Starfire put on his cheek. He blushed even harder.

Mas and Menos immediately ran towards Starfire and with sad and weeping faces, hugged Starfire's legs.

"Oh, no! El niño de cabello despeinado es tu novio? Pero el es tan feo!"

Bumblebee, Cyborg, Raven and Aqualad laughed hard while Starfire, BB and Speedy had a big question mark on their faces and Robin had a small annoyed sweat drop on his face.

"What just happened? I don't understand Spanish!"-BB yelled

"Join the club"-Speedy said

"Please, can anyone translate?"-Starfire asked

Robin crossed his arms and looked at the twins. He had understood what they had said and had not like it. Aqualad was the first one to stop laughing and was able to tell the rest of them what Mas and Menos had said.

"They asked if the boy with _unruly_ hair is your boyfriend, Starfire. They also said that he is ugly"

Starfire smirked and Robin's big vein on his forehead just got bigger. Kids! Mas and Menos let go of Starfire's legs and saw when Starfire bent down and kiss each one of the twins on the cheek. The twins smiled brightly and small hearts replaced their eyes. Then they looked at an even angrier Robin and they stuck their tongue out to him. Robin did the same to them.

"El niño de cabello despeiando es mi novio. Es una buena persona"-Starfire said

The Titans looked at Starfire with their mouths hunging, all of them except Robin who knew what had just happened. He had witnessed it before.

"_Do you understand what I have said? You have nothing to fear, I won't hurt you"-Robin said_

_Starfire tiled her head and got closer to Robin's face. She was laying on a bed, resting. The Titans had just found her hours ago on the snow during a mission. She was a mysterious alien with awesome powers that had saved their butts. They did not know anything more about her since she had not spoken a word since they had met._

_Robin had taken her to a guest room and had checked on her all night. She had finally woken up and had not being hostile but had not spoken either, even if Robin had talked to her. He did not know why but he wanted to know her name. He wanted to know her name so bad._

"_Do you have a name? My name is Robin"_

"_Emy glarven roft'ir ul venzer zachr'te"_

_Robin smiled and Starfire tilted her head to the opposite side._

"_I'm sorry but I can't understand you. I guess you don't know English"_

_Starfire sat on her knees on the bed and before Robin could react, she held Robin's head with both her hands and kissed him on the lips. He kissed back. After a few moments, she broke the kiss._

"_Is this some kind of alien reception?"-Robin asked_

_Starfire giggled .Robin arched an eyebrow._

"_Greetings, Robin. My name is Starfire, from the planet Tamaran. I am afraid this is not an alien reception but an alien method to acquire your language. I appreciate your _cooperation_"-Starfire answered_

_Robin blinked several times._

"_Did you just _learn_ English with a _kiss_?"-Robin asked_

"_Indeed, it is quite common for my race to acquire different languages by physical contact"-Starfire answered_

"_How many languages have you learned already?"-Robin asked, his question covering his true concern: how many guys had she kissed._

"_This is my first"-Starfire answered_

"_I see, glad to be able to help you. So, what brings you to Earth, Starfire?"-Robin asked_

"_I believe it is a long story"-Starfire answered_

"_We have all the time in the world"-Robin said_

Robin snapped back to reality and realized the Titans were still waiting for an answer to Starfire's act.

"Starfire learns new languages by physical contact"

"REALLY!"-The Titans asked

"So, who taught you English?"-BB asked

Robin blushed at the memory. Why could he not stop blushing? The Titans understood very well and mischievously arched their eyebrows in unison.

"What did you tell Mas and Menos?"-BB asked

"I told them that Robin is my friend who is a boy and that he is a nice person"

Bumblebee, Cyborg and Aqualad nodded.

"So, Star…what else can you learn by…_touching_?"-Speedy asked

Robin's eye twitched and his hands became fists. The Titans flinched at Speedy's question. Speedy enjoyed teasing Robin. Starfire finally spoke with a big smile.

"Many other things that _you_ will never have the opportunity to learn from _me_ or _with_ me"

"_Got it?"-Robin thought_

Speedy's smile disappeared and the Titans laughed about his face: Starfire-1, Speedy-0.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to get ready. We'll be back in about 30 minutes"-Cyborg said

"We shall use this time to show you our home"-Starfire answered

"Do we get to see _all_ rooms? Including your room?"-Speedy asked

"_What the heck?"-Robin thought_

"Indeed, you will be able to visit all rooms, including mine"-Starfire answered

Silence. BB cleared his throat.

"Actually, we have decided to invite you guys to stay for the night. You know, so you guys get to relax before returning to Steel City"-BB said

"In that case, it is very important to know where Starfire's room is at, you know, just in case I need some help during our stay"-Speedy said

"_Son of a…"_ Robin's thought was interrupted by Starfire's answer.

"I will be glad to help you, but knowing where my room is located shall not be of much use. It will serve you best if you learned where Robin's room is. It is easier to find _me_ there"-Starfire said

"_Starfire-2, Speedy-0"-Robin thought_

Raven, BB and Cyborg walked out of the main room and left their guests in Robin and Starfire's company. Before splitting up to be on their way to their rooms, the three Titans laughed at the scene they had just witnessed moments ago.

"This will be an interesting night"-Raven said

"I never thought Speedy would be interested in Starfire"-BB said

"He ain't interested in her…he is just pushing Robin's buttons, trying to make him less timid about his relationship with Star"-Cyborg said

"Are you sure?"-BB asked

"Positive, have you ever heard about reversed psychology?"-Cyborg asked

"Uhm…sure"-BB answered

"This will be fun"-Raven said

The Titans laughed once again before going their separate ways. They could not wait to get back to the main room and watch the soap opera take its course.

Back in the main room, the Titans East and Robin and Starfire stared at each other, still digesting what had just happened in front of them.

"_Why the hell is Speedy flirting with Starfire?"-Bumblebee thought_

"_Speedy wants his ass kicked by Robin"-Aqualad thought_

"_ When are we eating? "-Mas and Menos thought_

Robin and Speedy stared at each other, waiting for a cue to jump into each other and begin a fight. Just when Robin thought his paranoia and jealousy had ended when Red X left, Speedy came into the picture. Did somebody up there take some ill pleasure in watching him suffer?

"You sure have many things planned out for tonight, don't you?" Aqualad asked while looking at the many boxes and bags laying around the main room.

"Indeed. We want your visit and stay to be must memorable"-Starfire answered

Speedy was about to make some naughty remark about Starfire's answer but Bumblebee pinched his arm.

"Oow that hurt!"

"_That_ was the goal"-Bumblebee said

Speedy massaged his arm while Bumblebee gave him a death stare, making him understand that his witty comments were neither welcome nor appropriate at all. Robin, who had being awfully quiet for a long time now, finally joined the conversation.

"Why don't we start the tour? We only have about 30 minutes to show you guys the Tower"

"Sure, let's go"-Bumblebee said

The Titans began walking towards the door and once they made their way out of the main room, the tour began.

"Don't stay behind; the Tower is a huge place. We don't want you to get…_lost_" Robin said while glaring at Speedy. He knew this last line was meant to him and he understood the double meaning. The rest of them ignored the comment and kept walking.

"Why do you guys have the rooms so separated from each other?"-Aqualad asked

"For security reasons. If the Tower was ever to get invaded" _again _"We would be more vulnerable if they intruders were able to surround us at the same time in the same place. By spreading out the rooms, we are not an easy target to control"-Robin answered

"Makes sense"-Bumblebee said

Robin and Starfire showed the location of the bedrooms to the visiting Titans. They also showed them the guest rooms where they could stay for the night. The restroom was another important room they should be able to locate. The Titans passed next to the door of the Evidence Room. They had no gone inside all of the rooms and Robin thought it was not necessary to show them this room either but Speedy asked to go inside. Robin accepted.

The door opened and the lights were turned on to reveal the neat and organized room which held the artifacts that the Titans had gathered throughout their years of crime fighting.

"Wow! You sure have a wicked sense of 'scrapbooking'"-Speedy said

"We keep as much evidence as we can. We never know when this objects may be of use"-Starfire said

The Titans walked freely inside the Evidence Room, admiring the objects that were in display, reading the former owner's names and dates of "acquisition". Mas and Menos ran towards a specific glass case that contained what they thought was a toy.

" It's Pinocchio! "

"That's Puppet Master. He almost got us fried!"-Robin said

Mas and Menos found another object that caught their attention and rapidly lost interest in Puppet Master's body. The twins moved from one object to another, always making sure they did not break anything in their way. They did not want to make the _spiky-haired_ boy upset. Bumblebee was reading all the newspaper's clips of the headlines that involved the heroes or the villains. Even though the Titans East had almost a year of history in crime fighting, they were a long way to reach the Titans' level of expertise.

Aqualad stared at the section devoted to Brother Blood. He had being truly disappointed that time back in Steel City when Blood took over their minds. Brother Blood had being their first major villain and the Titans had to go to the rescue. Robin walked next to Aqualad.

"It's quite a long time since it happened, right?"-Robin asked

"Yes it is"-Aqualad answered

"Things have changed a lot since then. Some for good…some for worse"-Robin said

Aqualad wondered if Robin wanted to start a serious conversation or if he just wanted to make conversation between them. It was not normal for the leader of the Titans to engage in conversations that involved personal matters with anyone.

"Everything changes, nothing can stay the same"-Aqualad said

Speedy walked around the room, finding nothing of interest yet until he reached a big glass case at one of the corners of the room. The case held a manikin with a black uniform. The uniform had a red x on the chest and a small eye mask, similar to Robin's but smaller. He immediately recognized the outfit: it was Red X's uniform.

"_So this is the man that caused so much trouble among the Titans? Nice to meet you"-Speedy thought_

Starfire saw Speedy's interest in Red X's outfit and walked towards him. Speedy could see Starfire's heart wrench for a second through her face when she faced the content of the case. This was _the_ man, alright.

"So, what's his story?"-Speedy asked, trying to sound innocent

"This is the only remaining of a beloved friend of ours. His sacrifice is what allows us to be here today"

"I see"

Starfire gave the glass case a last look before Robin stated that the tour would continue in another room. The Titans agreed and followed Robin to the Game Room.

"Nice place, I thought you didn't want any more distractions but the game station, Robin"-Bumblebee asked

"I don't but in one of Cyborg's _active_ days he built this game room before I had something to say in the matter. It's not _that_ bad, actually"-Robin answered

" More videogames! Can we come and play later on? "

"Sure thing, after you have eaten all your _vegetables_"-Robin joked

"You are so mean to the little _bumgorphs_"-Starfire said

"Since when did you become their…_kenorfka_?"-Robin asked

Starfire giggled and Robin stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. Robin was getting used to Starfire sometimes using Tamarean words and had tried to learn some words himself, or at least the essential words and phrases.

"Eir bohan luk rand'ir"

"Ok, I am not _that_ proficient in Tamaran…what does it mean?"-Robin asked

"I shall tell you later, if you eat all your vegetables"-Starfire answered

Both Robin and Starfire laughed and caught the attention of the rest of the Titans.

"Did we miss something?"-Speedy asked

"You did, we didn't"-Aqualad said

Robin grabbed Starfire's hand and signaled the other to continue the tour. This time they showed them the Training Room, the Conference Room, the Emergency Room, and were now on their way to the roof.

"What's so exciting about the roof?"-Bumblebee asked

"It has the best things yet"-Robin answered

"The _roof_? Like what?"-Speedy asked

"The roof can modify itself to become a sports center, a swimming pool, an aircraft landing area and many other interesting features"-Starfire answered

" Swimming pool, in this weather? You are all crazy! "

Once the Titans arrived at the roof and opened the door, the Titans East understood why the roof was such a wonderful place. It was not because of the different shapes it could take, but the view and the aura that surrounded the place, not to mention the history behind it, was incredible. For Robin and Starfire, the roof was their sacred place.

"Look at that view! You guys can take care of the entire city by just sitting here!"-Speedy said

"One time we saw Dr. Light preparing himself to drain the electricity from the city from our living room"-Robin said

"Really? What an idiot"-Aqualad said

"There are so many of them in this city" Bumblebee said, arms crossed and her eyes narrow lines.

"What is that supposed to mean?"-Speedy said

The Titans looked at him with a _you-know_-_what-we-are-talking-about_ face.

"Never mind"-Speedy said

"What if we go back inside? I am certain that our friends are ready to begin the party"-Starfire said

"Sure, yeah, why not?" Speedy joked, glad that she had stepped in to save his butt.

All of them walked back to the main room, talking about how different their towers were and how they were really looking forward to have a great night. Starfire was right: before they arrived to the main room, BB, Raven and Cyborg had joined them and, in no time, the 10 Titans had arrived at the main room, ready to begin the celebration.

When the door opened, BB and Cyborg stopped cold before arriving to the door frame. Raven used her powers to get inside the room by disappearing inside the floor and then reappearing on the main room's floor. Aqualad pulled Bumblebee to make her stop, Robin tried to stop Starfire from walking through the door but could not and the only person he was able to stop was Speedy. Starfire and Mas and Menos had been walking on the back, having a very nice conversation to notice what the other Titans had done. The twins and Starfire stopped at the door frame and soon realized why everyone was evading the dreaded door: the mistletoe.

"_Why did we put that thing there?"-Raven thought_

" Mistletoe! Kiss from lady! "

"_At least it's NOT Speedy"-Robin thought_

Starfire turned her head up and saw that the twins were right. Starfire smiled and reached down to get at level with the twins' height and kissed each one of them on their cheeks.

"_We really need to get rid of that thing before someone ends up with someone they don't _like_. Why is it still there?"-BB thought_

The twins' faces were filled with happiness and began running around the room. The rest of the Titans carefully made their way inside the room. The clock read 7:00pm. The tour had taken longer than they had thought but it was ok. Time was the least of their worries at the moment.

"So, what are we doing first?"-Speedy asked

"Well, it's too early for the piñata, so what about a game station Tournament!"-Cyborg answered

Mas and Menos, BB and even Starfire jumped at Cyborg's idea. The rest of the Titans did not look too excited about it. Robin gave Starfire an odd look. Starfire pouted and shyly played with her fingers.

"I find the game of video a quite amusing artifact. Cyborg says that I am a very good opponent"

"I bet you are"

Starfire made a frown at Robin's sarcastic tone.

"I did beat your score once, do you not remember?"

Robin's eyes widened. He did remember that moment. Thankfully for him, Starfire had unplugged the game station and her new scores had not been recorded. Robin smirked.

"Yeah, there was that _one_ time"-Robin said

"We can make that two times"-Starfire said

"Wanna beat?"-Robin asked

Starfire nodded.

"I'm in!"-Robin said

"Well alright! Find your spot on the couch y'all"-Cyborg said

Cyborg went to the drawers below the big screen and got four more controllers out of it. He then plugged them to the game console while the players got comfortable on the couch. Raven took this opportunity to clear her throat.

"There are four of us left, you know?"-Raven said

Cyborg found the right spot for him on the couch and turned back to face Raven.

"I'm sorry Raven. We do have four more controllers"-Cyborg said

"I was not talking about that! Don't you think it's a little rude to leave Bumblebee, Aqualad and Speedy behind?"-Raven asked

"Actually, I feel like watching them play, I'm not a player myself"-Speedy said

"_Yeah, right…not a _player_"-Robin thought_

"I feel like chilling, we just had a mission before arriving here. I can sure use the time to relax"-Bumblebee said

"I guess the rest of us…" Raven began but was interrupted by Cyborg.

"OK!" he said as he turned his face back to the game.

Raven arched an eyebrow and apologized to the Titans East for Cyborg's attitude.

"It's ok Raven. We know how obsessed Cyborg can get with the game station"-Bumblebee

Aqualad, Bumblebee and Raven sat on the kitchen table after removing the bags and boxes on top of it and of the chairs. The rest of the Titans enjoyed their tournament.

"How are things going? Cyborg told me about Star's _retirement_. She looks fine to me"-Bumblebee said

Raven looked at Starfire from the corner of her eye. She did look ok, she was enjoying herself.

"We don't know how she is doing. Sometimes she is ok and then the next minute she is 'out of it'" Raven said while remembering the incident in the kitchen.

"You guys have gone through many things…some of them _very_ bad. Is there anything we can do for you?"-Aqualad answered

"We don't know what to do ourselves but you being here is a start"-Raven answered

"Thanks for inviting us"-"Bumblebee said

The Titans continued to talk and the rest of them continued to play until Cyborg stated that it was time for him to begin cooking. He planned to cook his famous spaghetti. It was already 8 o'clock and he could bet most of them were already hungry. Cyborg went to the kitchen and Bumblebee offered to help him. Cyborg accepted her help. He did not know why but having Bumblebee next to him made him feel uncomfortable. Even though he knew the Titans did not know how much Bee and he talked at night, and _what_ they talked about, he felt some sort of uneasiness around her.

They had become close friends, very close friends. Cyborg had confided in her since the troubles at Titans' Tower began. She was well aware of what the Titans had to go through and did not expect them to be so…stable. Cyborg had told her the most horrible things happening to them and how he suffered because of them. Bee suffered along with him. It had not been until Cyborg and Bee began to have this special bond that he understood what Robin and Starfire had. Desperate situations allow you to find true friends and Bee had become his new best friend…who was a girl.

Mas, Menos and BB continued to play to "make the time to eat go faster", they had said. Most of the food had been pre-cooked before the guests arrived but some other things had to be cooked just before eating, like Cyborg's spaghetti. BB enjoyed having the opportunity to play with someone else other than Cyborg. Maybe he could win this time…he never thought the twins could be so good at the game.

"_There goes my chance of having my name on the top players list"-BB thought_

On the other side, Raven used her powers to set up the table they had bought for tonight. They had to fit 10 people and the food; their small kitchen table would not do tonight. Starfire, Robin and Aqualad helped set up the table while Speedy cheered for them, saying that they were doing an awesome job and that he did not want to ruin their efforts. It was not his style to set the table but at least, he had promised, he would make sure no food was left to be thrown away.

"Are we really having a piñata?"-Bee asked

"You bet we will! It was BB's idea, he's crazy about hitting things"-Cyborg answered

"I'm sure he is. What about you? What are you crazy about?"-Bee asked

Cyborg gulped understanding her double-meaning. Bee smirked.

"Uhm…well, yeah…of course…game station?"-Cyborg answered

"O-okey"

Cyborg breathed heavily and continued preparing the food. Bumblebee shook her head and began taking the food out and placing it on the counter. Raven and the others had already finished setting up the table. BB and Mas and Menos had joined them a few minutes before when BB got tired of being beat up by the twins.

BB's stomach rumbled and he groaned. He looked at Cyborg and Bee who were cheerfully talking in the kitchen and groaned even louder.

"Will you hurry up Cyborg? You can flirt with your girlfriend later!"

Cyborg's eyes widened and the rest of the Titans stared at them. Everything that Cyborg had taught BB to taunt Robin was not coming back at him. He would watch in what he taught BB from now on.

"This the time when you nearly have a heart-attack and say 'She's not my girlfriend!'"-Robin joked

It was payback time for Robin.

"Indeed, then you must get upset at Cyborg and put him in an uncomfortable position by asking why are you neither his friend nor a girl"-Starfire said.

The Titans East did not quite understand why the Titans were making those comments.

"Not familiar with the inner joke. Hungry?"-Bee asked

"Let's eat"-BB said

Cyborg sent Bee to the table to join the Titans East while Raven used her powers to move the food from the counter to the table they were sitting at. In no time, the table was packed with spaghetti, home-made pizza, four-story sandwiches, tofu, tacos, burgers, lasagna, and all kinds of drinks and many other things. The Titans ate and talked about their funniest stories. They talked about the time Cyborg put red dye in BB's shampoo and he turned brown for days. The time Starfire went to the mall alone by herself and returned to the Tower with a three-story hairdo that took hours of washing her hair to remove all the hair spray. The time when Robin left to the other side of the world, and they all dressed up as him and used all his gadgets.

They also mentioned the time Silky became Starfire's pet. Or the time Robin had to go on a date with Kitten. The Titans East also shared some of their stories, like the time Mas and Menos cut Speedy's hair while he was asleep, or the time Mas and Menos replaced Speedy's arrows with toy arrows filled with stink gas while he was asleep. Or the time Mas and Menos drew a beard and freckles on Speedy's face with a marker while he was asleep.

It amazed the Titans how all the stories began how Mas and Menos had done something to Speedy while he was asleep. The stories proved two things: the twins were a hand-full and Speedy was a very lazy person when not in battle.

Once the Titans finished their time at the table, Raven again used her powers to move the empty trays of food in the kitchen counter to be washed. There was no food left to throw away as Speedy had promised.

Bumblebee and Cyborg volunteered to wash the dishes while BB and the twins set up the donkey game. Robin and Aqualad left to the roof to prepare the place for the piñata while Raven, Speedy and Starfire took a break. By the time the donkey game was set up, Robin and Aqualad were already back from the roof and Bumble and Cyborg had finished washing half of the dishes. They decided to finish washing them after hitting the piñata. The poster with the picture of the donkey was set up on the opposite wall to the kitchen. Starfire divided the pins and gave two to each Titan.

"Who's going first?"-Robin asked

" Let's go by height! Short people first! "

"Let's go by color! Green first!"-BB said

"I agree with the kids! By height…tallest first!"-Cyborg said

"Most handsome first!"-Speedy said

"Ladies first!"-Bumblebee said

"Let me go first so we can get this over with"-Raven said

"No, aliens first"-Starfire said

"Enough!"-Robin said

The Titans had began pushing one another to be first but stopped when Robin raised his voice.

"We're leaving it to luck" Robin said while he pulled 10 pieces of folded paper out of his utility belt. He knew something like this was bound to happen. Robin began drawing the names and the Titans quickly formed a line in the order they were called. The first one to be called out was Raven, then Bumblebee, Mas, BB, Speedy, Starfire, Menos, Aqualad, Cyborg, and finally Robin.

Cyborg blindfolded Raven and prepared her pins. Cyborg put her a few feet away from the poster on the path of the donkey and she began walking towards the picture while the Titans screamed directions all the same time, some were correct, some were not.

"To the right!"

"To the left!"

"Go back!"

"Look up! Look up!"

"No powers Raven!"-BB said

Raven ignored BB's comment, and after thinking were to put the pin, she placed the pin very next to his tail but did not completely aim the first time. However, she still had a second chance.

"You're such a cheater Raven! You're using your magic!"-BB said

Raven was not known by her lasting patience with BB. And above that, she did not appreciate being called a cheater either. Who does, anyway?

"Stop it Beast Boy"-Raven said

"A little bit to the right, Raven!"-Cyborg said

"Don't lie to her, to the left! To the left!"-Speedy said

"Do not believe any of them. You must go up"-Starfire said

Raven again hesitated on where to put the pin. Why had she agreed to play this game again?

"_Because nobody gave an option"-Raven thought_

Why had she not said she did not want to play?

"_Because I do want to play"-Raven thought_

Raven was still debating with her mind about the reasons why she was standing blindfolded in front of a picture of a donkey, aiming at his butt when BB teased her again.

"You're so meditating to cheat, aren't you Raven?"

That was as much as Raven could take from BB. If BB truly wanted for Raven to use her powers, then she would use her powers to shut him up. Raven meditated to find BB and using her telepathy, she aimed the pin at BB's butt. BB jumped up and down and ran around the room, begging for someone to pull the pin out of his butt.

"Get this thing out of my ass!"-BB yelled

Raven removed her fold and enjoyed BB's cries of help. The Titans followed BB with their eyes until Mas and Menos removed the pin from his butt. It was now until then that the Titans laughed out loud.

"Friends, do you remember the time when Raven put a pin on Beast Boy's behind?"-Starfire asked

Laughter just got louder. The Titans continued to play but none of them were able to win. After the game had ended, they all made their way to the roof to hit he piñata, this time the order used was age.

"Dude…What is it with donkeys all of a sudden?" BB said when he saw the shape of the piñata.

"Would you have preferred a Beast Boy-shaped piñata? I might had gotten it confused with you"-Raven said

BB glared at Raven and her response was a small shrug. Once the first round was over, a second round was began and then a third round. By the fourth round, only BB, Mas and Menos continued to take turns to hit the piñata. The rest of the Titans had gotten closer to the edge of the roof to admire the view. It was already past 9:00pm and the snow had stopped falling. The city lights were on and the landscape was beautiful. Starfire, Raven and Bee talked about girl stuff on one side of the roof while Aqualad and Cyborg talked about the new adjustments Cyborg had made to the Tower. Speedy approached Robin and stood right next to him.

"So, Starfire is a hot girl"-Speedy said

Robin's hand turned into a fist and without even turning to face Speedy he answered in a cold tone.

"Look Speedy, I don't know what you are trying to get out of me with those comments but stop it. I don't allow _anyone_ to make those comments about or to Starfire, and the only reason why I haven't kicked your ass is because you are my guest here. So stop that…now"-Robin said

Speedy smiled.

"Chill, man! I'm not trying to steal your girl from you, I'm just teasing you, helping you"-Speedy said

"_Helping_ me? How the _hell _are you helping me?"-Robin asked

"I've seen you with Star. You look a little bit…too serious? I was like that a long time ago and I lost the girl that I loved because of that. I admire you and I consider you a friend, so as a friend I'm trying to prevent you from making the same mistake"-Speedy answered

Robin gave him a suspicious look, trying to read his face. He could not tell if he was lying to cover his butt or if he was being honest.

"You can't read me, right? You are trying to read me but you can't, can you?"-Speedy asked

Robin's glare got stronger.

"Now you can feel what Starfire feels when you hide in your own little world"-Speedy said

Robin's face changed from anger to a face that denoted he just had an epiphany. Speedy was right. Starfire had to constantly ask Robin what he thought or what he felt because she could not read him. Who would think Speedy was capable of…making sense?

"What are you suggesting?"-Robin asked

"Exactly what I have been doing since I got here. Be open and honest when expressing what you think"-Speedy said

"So, you _do_ think Starfire's hot!"-Robin asked

"Don't you?"-Speedy answered

Robin smirked and Speedy smiled.

"See, I'm not only incredible handsome but I'm smart too!" Speedy said and then got hit on the face by the wooden stick that had been used with the piñata.

"Sorry"-BB whined from behind.

"I think I'm gonna get inside for a second, I don't feel so good"-Speedy said

Bumblebee aided Speedy to get inside the Tower and Raven and Cyborg followed them. BB, Mas and Menos returned to the main room to watch the big screen TV. Aqualad said he felt like swimming before the final countdown and jumped from the roof towards the water, the cold weather did not stop him. Starfire followed her friends with her eyes until they disappeared behind the door. She then switched her gaze to Robin who was staring back at her.

"Is everything ok, Robin? I saw you talking to Speedy and I know you are somewhat upset at him"-Starfire said

"You worry too much about me, Star. Everything's ok"-Robin said

Starfire walked to Robin and he patted the spot next to him on the edge of the roof. She understood and sat next to him.

"Do you know what I was doing at this time a year ago?"-Robin asked

"No, I do not"-Starfire answered

Robin held Starfire's hand and kissed the back of it. He then intertwined their fingers and stroked the back of her hand with his other hand.

"I was missing you so much. When the New Year arrived, we all were at the main room and were sitting on the couch. I wanted you to be there, I wanted to have you by my side and feel your hug and hear your laughter and see your bright smile"-Robin said

"Robin, I…" Starfire began but was cut-off by Robin. "Please, listen, I have wanted to tell you this for a long time." Starfire nodded and Robin continued.

"You weren't there to dance with me, to twirl me around until I got dizzy. I didn't get the chance to get your hug and hear your voice saying how much you appreciated having us as friends. That night after the New Year had arrived I came up here, by myself because I considered this our special place, hoping you would appear and we would have our first new year's long talk. Even if you left after we talked, I just wanted to know you were _alive_"

Robin took a brief moment to take a deep breath. Starfire could not move her gaze off him. He was opening up to her and she did not want to lose the opportunity.

"Raven came by and she tried to cheer me up. I remembered all the times you came here when you were sad and I cheered you up, and that time that I was the one who needed to be helped I did not have you around me. I told Raven that I _was_ going to find you and that once I did I would never let go of you ever again"-Robin said

"And you did find me, Robin"-Starfire said

"This night, a year ago, was the night I decided I was going do something else than feeling sorry for myself. This night I promised myself I was going to bring you back. I never expected to find you and then lose you again"-Robin said

"But Robin, you never lost me, you know how things turned out and the reasons why I chose to do things the way I did"-Starfire said

"Yes, and if it had not been for your supposed death, I would have not realized how stupid I had been hiding my feelings for you. When you left with Red X, I knew that you were alive at least. But when I held you in my arms and you died and then I visited your grave, I realized that I had wasted my time evading how I felt. I wished for nothing more but a second chance to mend the mistakes I had made"-Robin said

Robin and Starfire remained silent for a while. Starfire was processing what Robin had said and he was afraid of what Starfire could think of him. However, there was nothing he could have done now. He had spoken and there was no going back. Starfire finally spoke.

"We went to the park and watched the fireworks. It reminded me of the night we went to the amusement park, that night my sister arrived. I could almost hear your voice next to me. Red X told me he was doing what he did for me, which did not help. It made me feel responsible for his…_death_. He asked me out on a date and I accepted, knowing it was the last moment of peace he would ever have"-Starfire said

Robin faced down but never let go of Starfire's hand. This was hurting him, he needed her physical reassurance.

"You went to the pizza parlor. The waitress thought it had been me who had gone with you. That's how we found out you were not dead"-Robin said

"I see. The last thing we did before going back home was to go to the beach to watch the sunrise"-Starfire said

Robin stared at her for a second and then his mouth dropped.

"You ate sand, didn't you?"-Robin asked

Starfire blushed.

"Perhaps…"

"You did! I told you that's bad for you!"

"Well, Red X tried it too. He disliked it also"

Robin's face became serious. Starfire feared she had hurt Robin more than he was already hurting at the moment.

"Remind me of eating sand the next time we go to the beach"-Robin said

Starfire giggled.

"I'm serious! I want to see what the big deal is about"-Robin said

"I will!"-Starfire said

Starfire giggled and Robin laughed a little before silence took over them again. This time Starfire broke the silence.

"There is something else that I have not told you"-Starfire said

Robin's muscles tensed. He gulped, waiting for the worse to come.

"Remember the first time we met Red X that you thought I had gotten rid of him?"-Starfire asked

Robin nodded.

"I knew he was not dead. I knew he was alive. All that time I knew he was alive but I did not want to tell any of you to stop the pain"-Starfire said

"What!"-Robin jerked

Starfire became nervous.

"Well, you had gone through so much suffering and…I knew that if you found out that he was still alive y-you would continue to search for him…and may become obsessed like you did with Slade"-Starfire said

Robin took a deep breath as to calm himself down. Starfire stared at him, not knowing what reaction to expect from Robin.

He knew that Starfire was right. If he had known that Red X was still alive, he would have hunt his ass down until he found it and gave him what Robin thought he deserved. Robin could not understand why Starfire had covered for him for so long. He now understood why she was not that surprised when the night of her birthday party he had told her Red X was alive. She already knew! She protected him for a year and kept protecting him until the end.

"_What about me? Am I not _that_ important to her?"-Robin thought_

"You knew all along? Even though he tried to kill us all you still covered for his sorry ass? I can't believe you put his safety before ours!"-Robin asked

"Robin, I knew he was not such a bad person. He was mislead"-Starfire answered

"Mislead? Mislead? Sure, since he didn't have a mind of his own, he couldn't tell right from wrong!"-Robin said

"But you must understand! Evil was all he knew until he met us!"-Starfire said

"You mean until he met _you_. And you were always honest _until_ you met him"-Robin said

Starfire was hurt by Robin's last statement. She pulled her hand away from Robin and flew away from him. He did not even bother to pull her back to him. He was furious.

"There are things that are not meant to be told until the time is right"-Starfire said

"Lying is _still_ lying. You are asking for me to tell you the truth and you couldn't do it yourself"-Robin said

"You asked me to be honest with you but you cannot handle the truth"-Starfire said

"What do you see in him? It was his fault that all this crap started. He almost killed us and destroyed our Tower and almost disintegrated our team…our only family. You allowed him to endanger us more by letting him go free! I was going to die because of his existence!"-Robin said

"If he had not been with us, Slade would have taken us by surprise and I would have never known about the control Slade had over my health. He saved us and you should be thankful for that"-Starfire said

"Are you _kiddin_' me? I can't believe I even considered bringing him back, thinking that I owed him something"-Robin said

"You do! We all do!"-Starfire said

"I don't! I created him so I could destroy him and I did! I did it for you and all you thought about was protecting him"-Robin said

"If he died you died! I was also protecting you!"-Starfire said

"_Also_? So you _do_ accept that you were protecting _him_!"-Robin said

"This is a pointless argument, Robin. I do not wish to fight with you, tonight least than all. You have told me that you missed me and yet now that you have my company you waste your time arguing about something that cannot be changed and already occurred"-Starfire said

"You are not the only one who can lie, you know?" Robin said without thinking, his anger blinding his ability to think straight. He immediately regretted what he had said. He did know how to lie because he had just lied. He had truly missed her and he had meant it when he said he wanted them to be together forever. Even though it only took Robin a couple of seconds to realize that he had messed up…again, his straight thinking had not come soon enough. Starfire's hand had reacted first.

Next thing he knew, Starfire had slapped him. While Robin's head still was to the side Starfire spoke to him.

"_Eir bohan luk rand'ir_ is Tamarean for 'I love you'"

And she was gone before he could react. By the time he moved his gaze back to where Starfire was standing she was not there anymore.

"_Dammit!"-Robin thought_

Robin rubbed his cheek and cursed under his breath when Aqualad appeared behind him.

"Way to go, Boy Blunder"

"Not the time to be making jokes"

"It wasn't a joke. When will you learn Robin?"

"Learn what?"

Aqualad jumped over Robin and stood in front of him. Robin still rubbed his cheek. It was hurtful enough when a girl slapped a guy on the face but, having an angry Tamarean girl do the same was much worse.

"You are too paranoid Robin. Why are you so hard with her? She _is_ with you isn't she? She loves you, doesn't she?"

"I'm not even sure she…" Robin was cut off Aqualad. "Cut the crap, Robin. Don't make up excuses! If you don't make her happy, you are definitely gonna lose her, and if you can't trust her and love her the way she loves you and get over yourself you _will_ lose her…for good"

"I thought today was _New Year's Eve_, not _Judge Robin day_"

"Look, I don't know what makes you act the way you do around her but you will regret it. You better tell the evil voices on the back of your head to shut the hell up. Any guy would feel the luckiest man on Earth if Starfire felt only a little bit for him of what she feels for you. You have her and you are making her miserable. She won't be around for long is you keep it up"

"_You don't understand. No one does"-Robin thought_

Aqualad shook his head at Robin's silence and went back to the main room. It was almost midnight and the Titans would surely be getting ready to receive the New Year downstairs. He did not want to miss it. Robin stayed there at the roof, thinking about what he had told Starfire, what Starfire had told him and what Aqualad had pointed out.

"_I've told the voices to shut up…but they won't"-Robin thought_

Aqualad had almost guessed correctly when he talked about the voices on the back of Robin's head making him do crazy things. What he did not know was how powerful that voice was sometimes. The same voice that _now_ whispered in his ear.

"_She lied to you and you still feel for her…Poor, poor Robin, I pity you"_

"_Shut up"_

"_What good does it make? She's still nothing but a big liar…she's using you to get what she needs"_

"_You don't know what you are talking about"_

"_Oh, but I do and you know it…but you can't accept it. Can you, Robin?"_

"_Leave me alone. You are not real, you are not alive. She killed you, you are dead. Get out of my mind!"_

"_Evil never dies, Robin. If you joined me you would too become immortal"_

Robin closed his eyes and covered his ears with both of his hands.

"_That won't keep me away. I will always be here, watching you, making you see the truth. Making you see what you don't want to see"_

"_You are not here"_

"_I _am_ here…_she_ can also see me"_

"_Get away from her!"_

"_Why would I Robin? She doesn't deserve it, she doesn't treat you like you deserve"_

"_Don't you _dare_ to hurt her!"_

"_I don't have to…_you_ do a much better job than I do"_

"_I would never hurt her!"_

"_Didn't you just do exactly that?"_

The voice's laughter echoed in Robin's head. Robin held his head, trying to shut the voice but it was of no use.

Robin reached for his birdarang and threw it to the shadowy figure behind him.

The birdarang went through the shadow before it disappeared. Robin then fell on his knees and punched the floor.

"Why don't you leave us the hell alone?"-Robin whispered

Robin did not feel like going back to the main room in his current condition. He decided to go to his room. He walked inside the Tower and made his way to his room, holding himself against the walls, walking slowly. For some reason, these encounters always drained him. He just wanted to go to bed and sleep without those nightmares. He knew it was not possible, not even tonight.

"_Starfire…I'm so sorry"-Robin thought_

He wanted to go and apologize to her but he did not want to take the chance to cause a scene in front of their guests. He would have to wait for tomorrow. He saw the door to his room and walked to it as fast as he could but his legs could not hang anymore. They gave in and as Robin feel to the floor, he lost consciousness.

In the main room, the rest of the Titans celebrated the new year, while Starfire understood the way Robin felt a year go when she was away of him.

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**A/N: **I know this chapter is a little bit slow and doesn't have action at all but it is all for a reason. Thanks for sticking to the story this long even though it seems nothing exciting will ever happen. I can assure you that something exciting will happen eventually, but this is all I can tell you without giving away what I have in store for this story. See you later!


	6. Sound of Darkness

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own TT**

**NOTE: **This chapter took longer than I thought but it's finally here! I've working on other projects and had almost no time to update but the chapter is up now! Since season 4 is almost over and I have already set the exact structure of this story, I have decided that this will be my last TT story, a least for a long time it will. I think all the options for fan fictions have been exploited and, at least in my case, I'll have to wait for season 5 to get my mind going again. However, this story is far from over, so don't worry about me stopping this one. I am determined to finish it and since now I have the course, ending and "how to get there's" written down, the only thing you guys have to worry about is reading the story. The only thing that may stop me from updating sooner will be that I'm working on my new site. I have one dedicated to TT; it's mostly for 'shipping any couple(groups-msn-com/jumpcity) (fanfiction wont let me put the link)and the new one is for Phil of the Future fans: (s7-invisionfree-com/phil-n-keely-shrine, use underscores for the last four words) I'm in the advertising stage in both sites and taking care of them implies investing a lot of time to them. Yet, I have not forgotten this story and I'm still really into it. Hope you like it!

**P.S.** Please don't hate me because this story will get worse and worse before it gets better, a lot worse. **THANK YOU SO MUCH** for all your reviews; in this and in all of my other stories. I love you all!

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**Chapter 5**

Sound of Darkness

Raven opened her eyes and realized that it was a new day. Regardless of the season, the sun shone brightly and a small amount of its brightness made its way through a small opening of her window. Even though Raven did not have trouble getting up early, today she felt like not getting up until later in the day. The reason being that she had not been able to have a good night sleep in the last three days for many reasons. She was pretty sure BB and Cyborg did not have the same trouble sleeping as she did, but she also knew that she was not the only one as Starfire and Robin also have had a lot of things going on between them.

Raven had had a very difficult time being a silent moderator between Robin and Starfire. Their relationship was in a very unstable stage since the night of the New Year party, two days ago. Robin and Starfire have had arguments before and their fights amused the rest of the Titans. They knew that sooner or later, the couple would forget what they were fighting about and they would go back to their mushy-mushy state. Normal couples fight, resolve their differences and then get back together; it's all part of the building of a relationship.

However, Robin and Starfire's fights would not last long. They would usually last, at most, a few hours, or at least, 1 minute. One of them always gave in and after compromising, they would get back to being Jump City's favorite couple. This had been always true until now.

The party had ended with the final countdown to the new year and after the Titans had hugged and wished each other a "Happy New Year", -except for Robin who was not present- they all had gone back to their rooms. It had been a long night and the Titans East had to go back to Steel City no later than noon the next day. This meant they had to be up by 9am, eaten by 10am and on their way by 10:30am. After the hugs were over, Raven was the first one to call it quits. She said her goodnights and left to her room. She was wondering about the reason for Robin's absence and Starfire's gloomy attitude until she bumped into something on the floor. Her eyes fell to the floor only to realize that it was not a _something_ but a _somebody_: it was Robin.

She hurried down and turned him face up. He did not look physically hurt but his negative emotional vibes were skyrocketing. Raven sensed his feelings of anger, deception, guilt and most of all, his broken heart. He was angry that he had no control over what was happening to him or to Star. He was angry at his own attitude that was now pushing Starfire away. He was angry at Slade who still haunted him and his girl, even after death. He was angry at the way he had yelled at Starfire that night on the roof. He was angry at himself. He also felt deception because Starfire had known so many secrets, important secrets, that she had refused to confide in him. Right when he thought he knew everything about her, she slapped him on the face with a new secret. This last time, she had slapped him figuratively and literally speaking: The literal part for the first time; the figuratively the one that hurt the most.

He also felt guilty for Starfire's lack of trust. He himself had built that barrier between them and he expected for it to break just by itself, with him not even trying anything to destroy it. He expected for Starfire to do the job for him, to be the one to solve his problem while he just sat and watched. He was putting to much pressure on her and she had finally blown up from it. Aqualad was right. If he kept this attitude up he will loose her. He did not think he would be able to deal with losing her…again.

"_I had never seen Robin like that"-Raven thought_

Raven had lifted Robin and taken him to his room. Once there, he laid him on his bed and took his shoes off. Raven stood in front of his bed and saw his face making a frown. She knew he was having one of those weird dreams that Starfire also had. She felt bad for him and decided to help him have the good sleep he need, at least for one night. She began meditating and got inside Robin's mind. Her goal was to see what had happened before she found him and block those nightmares, at least for tonight.

Raven had gotten inside Robin's mind before but now that she explored it for a second time, what she found was not pretty at all. Not that what she had found before was nice but this was worse. She saw Robin and Starfire arguing and then saw Aqualad and Robin's conversation. She then saw the cause of Robin's current state. She was able to listen to what Robin had heard inside his head. She was not able to tell who it was but by Robin's answers, it sounded like Slade.

"_He is dead"_

Raven had paid more attention to the conversation between Robin and the voice. She had learned that this was the same voice that Starfire heard. Robin and Starfire were being tortured by the same person, whoever he was, and his only purpose was to split them apart. He had tried so many times before but the couple had gotten over the issues and grown stronger together. However, this time it was different.

"_This time he may actually win"-Raven thought_

Raven, still on her bed, turned to her right side and pulled the covers closer to her. She had spent that night controlling Robin's nightmares. Usually, she could have locked that part of his mind and would have lasted a couple of days but these nightmares were very strong. It only took them a few minutes to set themselves loose from Raven's powers. That had been a long night for Raven.

The next day, the Titans East had woken up early and prepared breakfast for the Titans as a thank you for the party and the sleepover. They also helped them clean the place and in no time, the Titans East were on their way back to Steel City.

"We had an awesome time, next time let's do this in our place"-Bumblebee had said

"That sounds great"-Cyborg had answered

The Titans East had left and the Titans went back to their everyday chores in the first day of the New Year. They had not notice anything wrong between Robin and Starfire until Robin had walked inside the room and she had immediately left. This had been a recurring situation yesterday and Raven was more than sure that today would not be any different. Robin had spent most of his day yesterday trying to make Starfire talk to him or at least acknowledge that he was still there. She had not given in any of those times.

"_She doesn't even know what happened to him that night"-Raven thought_

Raven had sensed that Starfire was also suffering but her deception had taken the best of her. Starfire was not the type of person to be angry at anyone for a long time but Robin had hit the right spot and had changed that in her. The Titans were used seeing Robin and Starfire fight but they had not been talked to each other since that night. Robin would look at her but she would not even bother looking back. Instead, she had evaded him and even ignored him when he had called her name.

Raven decided to go to the roof and meditate. She was supposed to _meditate_ not _mediate_. She had the feeling that today would be a worse day than yesterday for the couple, and she being the only person preventing a massive rage outbreak between them, she had to be awake and alert for the sake of them and the team.

Raven closed her eyes and began her chant. Her mind went blank and her emotions leveled; her breathing calm and stable. She remained in this state of total tranquility for almost half an hour. She then sighed deeply and opened her eyes again. It was then that she realized that the breeze had gotten colder, regardless of the sun, and that she was not alone anymore. Robin was laying on his back on the floor next to her.

"It's too cold here to be wearing only your usual uniform, you know Raven"

Raven looked down and realized that Robin was right. She was used to wearing her uniform, even in weather like this, because she would always be inside the Tower. When the weather was this bad, bad guys tended to stay away from the streets, so she would not worry as much about being ready to go out in case they were needed.

"I was going inside anyway. What brings you out here…_alone_?"

Robin sighed and rested the back of his head on his crossed arms. He knew what Raven meant by "alone". For some reason, he was not that surprised that Raven knew about his problems. She always was the first one to figure them out.

"You are here, aren't you?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it. You haven't talked to her yet?"

"I have talked to her but _she_ hasn't talked back. She's still mad at me"

"Mad? With those vibes she was spreading I say she was _pissed_"

"Whatever. Bottom line is she won't talk to me or even look at me"

"What hurts most?"

"Both"

Raven growled.

"The looking"-Robin said

"Why the looking and not the talking?"

"Because I'm not really a 'talker' but I could tell her everything I was thinking with one look"

"Sure. Why is she pissed at you?"

"We had an argument two days ago. Big argument. I have no idea what to do about it"

"She's not talking to you so there isn't much you can do, at least now. I doubt you want to trap an angry Tamarean inside a room only to get her to talk to you. She can easily kick your ass, you know?"

"She almost did"

Raven smirked.

"It's only funny when it ain't you"-Robin said

"Whatever"

"What do you suggest I do?"

"I think you are asking the wrong person"

"Who should I ask then? Slade?"

"You can ask him to get out of your head"

Silence. Robin stood up and walked towards Raven. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot while she raised an eyebrow. Robin mimicked her.

"How much do you know?"

"Enough"

"How much is that?"

"Enough to be very concerned about you and Starfire. Enough to tell you that whatever it is that we are trying to do to help her is _not_ working. Enough to assure you that if don't find another way or the source of all this trouble, we are not only gonna loose Starfire or you, but the whole team as well"

"You went into my mind"

"Tried to help you sleep after I found you on the floor"

"So you are the one who got me to bed? I thought it had been…"

"Starfire? Nope, she as no idea what happened to you"

"I guess no one does

"No. And I'll keep it that way just to be on the safe side"

Robin walked to the edge of the Tower and stared blankly at the view of the city, his mind wandering through its streets and its people until Raven brought him back to reality.

"You are not thinking of jumping right? The 'jump' in Jump City is not literal"

Robin smirked and turned to face Raven. He had the perfect comeback for her usual sarcasm.

"I told you you were spending too much time with Beast Boy"

"Ha-ha. And you are spending too little time with Starfire"

_Ouch!_

"So, who's the owner of that voice you were arguing with?"

Robin flinched.

"What voice?"

"Don't deny it Robin. I can read minds, remember?"

Robin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms while looking at some invisible object to his left side.

"I think it's Slade"

Raven sighed.

"Robin, Slade is dead"

"I know… but it felt so _real_"

"The mind is a powerful tool, Robin. If you believe hard enough something fake to be real, you will eventually fall for it yourself"

"I want to believe Slade is dead but I can't until I go to his goddamned funeral"

"True. But I would bet anything that even then you will _still _believe he would come back someday"

"Unless we cremated him"

"And then you'll still be paranoid"

"Yeah, most likely yes"

They both chuckled.

"Look, Robin. I think Starfire just needs time to figure this one out, and you do too"

"Besides, there isn't any other option"

"That too"

"Thanks, Raven"

Robin patted Raven's back and headed for the door. Before Raven could ask him not to close it, since it was locked from the inside, Robin had already left the roof. Raven growled.

"Nice"

She used her powers and got inside the Tower, going straight to her room. She felt like reading a book. On the other hand, Robin went to the Weighting Room. Some training would ease his troubled mind, and it did, for almost three hours until the alarm went off.

"What the heck? It's 20 degrees outside!"-BB said

BB ran from his room towards the main room and the Titans caught up with soon after. Robin walked towards the big screen and found the place of the disturbance.

"It's those mysterious henchmen again"-Robin said

"No wonder they are outside! They're robots! They can't feel the freaking cold weather outside!"-BB said

"Whatever, man! We still have to go and stop them"-Cyborg said

"Where are they?"-Raven asked

"They are causing chaos at the bridge"-Robin answered

"From all the places they could choose, they had to take the bridge. What's so special about it?"-BB asked

"It's rush hour, Beast Boy. If that bridge collapses, they'll be _many_ innocent people _dead_"-Robin answered

"Good point"-BB said

"What are we waiting for? Let's go"-Raven said

Robin turned back and saw Starfire at the entrance. She was still in her pajamas and her hands were clasped together. She looked worried, obviously wanting to go with them and help. This was the first mission they had without her going. Robin knew how she felt, as he had felt when he had to stay in the Tower when he broke his arm chasing Rancid.

Robin knew that they would probably be back any time and that Starfire could take care of herself. However, he had this feeling that told him not to leave her alone. He could not take her for she would be in more danger but he also did not want to leave her alone by herself. He swallowed hard at the realization that there was nothing he could do for now. He had to trust Cyborg's security system and hope that no one would try to invade the Tower while they were away.

"Come on, Robin!"-Cyborg said

"Don't worry Star; we'll kick their butt for you!"-BB said

Raven gave Starfire a reassuring look and followed BB and Cyborg who had already left the room. Robin still stood in front of her and Starfire still stood there by the door. Robin began walking towards her and she took some steps back while her gaze became fixed on the floor.

Robin understood that she was still mad at him. Maybe not pissed anymore but still mad nonetheless. He lifted his hand as if trying to reach her from the distance and spoke.

"We'll be back soon"

"I shall be alright"

Robin wanted to say more but the Titans were waiting for him downstairs at the garage. Starfire turned back and closed the door on her way out. He wanted to go after her and lock her inside a room where no one would hurt her until he came back. He wanted to know she was going to be, in fact, alright. He was so afraid for her safety; now more than ever. Robin was not the type of person to be superstitious but the feeling of insecurity for Starfire's safety was overwhelming. However, he had to let it go, at least for now.

Robin ran towards the elevator and soon joined the rest of the Titans on their way to the bridge.

"_The sooner we get there, the sooner we get it over with, the sooner we come back home"-Robin thought_

The Titans made their way to the crime scene while Starfire found something to keep herself busy. She was glad the Titans had not noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She had not been able to get any sleep for the past two days. She had those nightmares come to haunt her right when she was about to be sound asleep. The nightmares had been getting worse. This time, her nightmares included the death of her friends, including Robin. Her nightmares now always ended with the voice, blaming her for their deaths. The voice also told her that Robin was getting tired of her and that she would soon become a burden to him and to the rest of her so-called friends and they would kick her out of the house. She would be all alone again and forever.

Starfire's eyes filled with tears at the recalling of those horrible nightmares. Were they premonitions? Was she going to be the cause of the Titans' deaths? Or was it all just a sick game of her imagination and frustration?

Starfire decided to take a bath. The Titans would take long to come back and she needed the relaxation. She went to her room and got a purple box from her closet, grabbed clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. She arrived at the bathroom and after placing her clean clothes on top of the restroom, she opened the box to reveal its content.

The box contained a set of aromatherapy items. This had been Raven's Christmas gift. She had said had the scents would help relax and relieve her mind. She had not used them before and hoped, with all her heart, that Raven was right. She hoped the scented candles, the creams and the shampoo and body wash would help her get some sleep.

Starfire placed the candles around the room and allowed the hot water to run freely, filling the bath tub in a short period of time. She carefully lighted the candles and got herself ready to dive inside the tub. She dimmed the lights so she could admire the view of the candles and after getting inside the tub, she closed the curtains and took a deep breath before loosing herself in the fragrance of the candles and the smoothness of the bubbles the liquid she had previously poured inside the tub had made.

Maybe it was not that bad staying home alone. Maybe this alone times could be therapeutic for her. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax. How could she not relax? Her relaxation soon turned into drowsiness and her drowsiness soon turned into sleep. The sleep she so much desired and was not able to get before was now back. Maybe Raven was right. Maybe this 'therapy of aroma' would help her sleep.

Even though she was asleep, she was still uneasy. She was waiting for her horrible nightmares to appear but all she could see was darkness and all she could hear was the buzzing of her ears. The Tower was awfully quiet. She had never witnessed her home to be without a sound and for some wicked reason, this quietness scared her. Her sleep state grew deeper and deeper and deeper. Her whole body relaxed. Her muscles lost any tension.

Then her throat was strongly held by someone's hand.

The same hand that had stopped her from screaming by pushing her inside the water and cutting her air supply short.

Starfire did not know if she was dreaming or if the lack of oxygen was a reality. She opened her eyes and all she could see was bubbles. The liquid now itched inside her eyes and she was forced to close them. She pushed herself up to grab some air. She took a deep breath before the strong grip pushed her back into the bottom of the tub.

"_I am not dreaming. Someone is trying to get rid of me"_

She again pushed herself out of the water and forced her eyes to withstand the itching. She wanted to see who was trying to drown her. She had to know who she was up against with to develop a plan to escape. She gasped for air at the same time she opened her eyes and saw the face of the murderer. It was Slade.

"NO!"

Starfire began trying to pull his arm away from her throat but he would not budge. She tried to kick him but with her sight gone and her need for air, her kicks had no true aim and the target was not hit once. Her mind quickly filled with memories of her best times with her friends and with Robin.

"_Oh, Robin! We never got the opportunity to talk"_

That was it. She was going to die right then and there. She was going to die under the hands of the man she had killed a long time ago.

"_Dead, he is dead"_

Starfire's mind was utterly confused. She was being drowned by a man she had already killed. This could not be happening!

"_I beg to wake up if this is a dream"_

But it felt real, the lack of oxygen was real, the pain on her throat was real, the fear in her heart was real. She had not done all the things she wanted to do before she died. She had not told her friends how much they meant to her. She had not showed Robin how much she loved him. She had told him but she had not _showed_ him. Worse of all, she was going to leave Robin with the burden of thinking it was his fault that she died. Yet, she was not ready to die. Not today or anytime soon. She was going to fight back.

Starfire's eyes lit a bright green and her hands filled with the green light as well. She used all of her strength to push herself up and opened her eyes to see Slade's burnt face. Starfire gasped at the scene.

"See what you did to me? See this face? You will get the same!"-Slade said

"No, I will not!"

Starfire prepared to hit Slade with her eyebeams but Slade pushed her back to the water. Slade had never been so strong. Or was she becoming weak?

"_Please, let me go"_

Starfire closed her eyes tightly and pushed herself up again only to find out that Slade was gone and that she was alone. Her breathing was fast and her heartbeat was racing. She turned around her, looking for a sign that Slade was really there, that she was not hallucinating again but she found none.

"_Perhaps it was a bad dream"_

Starfire came to the conclusion that she must have fallen asleep and slipped into the water while still asleep. This time, her nightmares had saved her from drowning. If she had not seen Slade, she would have probably not pushed herself up. She would have accidentally drowned because of her lack of awareness and somewhat stupidity. Starfire sighed and rubbed her face with her hands.

"It was only a dream, Starfire. Snap out of it now" She told herself. _"How long have I been dreaming?" _She wondered. She had no idea if she had been asleep for minutes or for hours. Unfortunately, there was no clock in the bathroom. She would have to tell Cyborg to install one for her as soon as possible. Starfire closed her eyes and then opened them only to see a shadow ran behind the curtain from one side of the room to the other. She held her breath and waited for the shadow to make its appearance again but it never did. Perhaps being inside a bath tub and naked was not a good stance to be found at if an enemy decided to show up.

Starfire waited a couple of more minutes to see if the shadow appeared again but it did not. She stood up and pulled the dry towel from the curtain rail and covered herself. She opened the curtains in one quick movement, expecting to see something waiting for her behind them and…

Nothing. She was still alone in the bathroom. She made her way out of the tub and began to dry herself.

On the other side of the city, the Titans fought against the henchmen. It seemed that everytime they fought them they got stronger and stronger. Robin had already made a mental note to start training sessions again and more often. The Titans were definitely getting out of shape. Besides, his worries and desire to get back to the Tower as soon as possible did not help him concentrate in the battle. He wanted to check up on Starfire. He knew something bad was going to happen. He stared at the Tower that could be seen from the distance and wondered what Starfire was doing at the moment.

"Robin…Robin! Earth to Robin!"-Cyborg said

Robin shook his head and pulled his communicator out of his utility belt.

"What's wrong?"-Robin said

"Well, let's see, we have about 350 henchmen trying to get the hell rid of us and you are just standing there…what's wrong with you, man?"-Cyborg asked

"What?" Robin answered and looked around him. He was not surrounded by any of the henchmen. In fact, he was about a distance of two _blocks_ away from them. He was almost out of the bridge.

"_When the hell did I get so far away from them?"_

"Is everything ok, man? 'Cause we sure need the backup!"-Cyborg said

Robin turned back and began running towards the rest of the Titans. Surprisingly, he had no idea when or how he had gotten so far away from the scene. Did his mind just _wander_ off?

"I'm on my way"-Robin said

Robin returned to the scene and began battling again the robots. Raven used her powers to take the innocent bystanders away from the bridge while BB, Cyborg and now Robin, fought the robots and pushed them toward the water. Robin joined Cyborg and in a quick second between beating one henchman and the other, Robin asked Cyborg how long had he being standing there.

"About 10 minutes, man!"-Cyborg answered

Robin's eyes widened. He had no recollection of what had happened in the last 10 minutes. He remembered arriving at the scene and then getting off of his R-Cycle and then…blank. Did he just walk towards the other side of the bridge and stood there for 10 minutes?

Robin realized this was not the time to be thinking about it. This thinking was wasting his time and taking time away from returning sooner to Starfire. It was like if someone out there knew he was in a hurry and resorted to silly games to slow him down.

Back at the Tower, Starfire had gotten dressed and after taking her dirty clothes to the laundry, and putting all the aromatherapy items back to their box, she had returned to her room and was now combing her hair, looking at herself on the vanity mirror. She looked for scars on her throat but she had none. The longer she thought about her experience in the bathroom, the more she convinced herself it had been only one of her nightmares and nothing more.

"_But, how about the shadow?"_

Starfire had thought about potential causes of the shadow behind the curtains and had only come up with the excuse that the hot air from the vent had moved the flame of the candle and the shadow she had seen had only been the flame returning to its original position.

"_What else could have been?"_

Starfire looked at herself on the mirror. She did not look the same. Her eyes were puffy and she had bags and dark circles under her eyes. The rose color on her cheeks was gone. Even her lips looked paler. Her hair was not shiny anymore and she had noticed it was somewhat damaged. She looked almost as if she was…dead…or a zombie.

"_Shame on you Starfire. Look at you! You are a total disaster"-Starfire thought_

Starfire kept brushing her hair while looking at the image of herself she did not recognize. When had she allowed herself to sink this low? When had she stopped caring for herself? Starfire sighed. As she brushed her hair, she found a knot. She tried to comb it but it would not untie. The knot on her hair was so tight that the brush slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.

"_Stupid hairbrush"_

Starfire leaned down to get her brush and when she leaned back, she hit her head with a drawer.

"_I do not remember leaving this open"_

She pushed the drawer back to its place and returned her gaze to the mirror and saw Slade behind her.

Starfire screamed.

She turned back and saw no one behind her. She breathed heavily and slowly looked around her room. She was sure she had seen him. He had to be there, somewhere, hiding. She did not find anyone or anything out of place. She turned her gaze back to the mirror and saw Slade's face again, this time _inside_ the mirror.

"_You lousy bitch!"_

Starfire walked backwards and threw the brush to the mirror and broke it. She then heard Slade's laugh echoed not only in her mind but around her room as well.

"_That's 7 years of bad luck. Shame on you"_

"_Where are you? Show yourself if you are as brave as you think you are"_

"_Why don't you look for me if you are as smart as you think you are?"_

Starfire's eyes and hands began glowing and she twirled around on the center of her room, trying to figure out the place from where the voice came.

"_Where are you, Slade?"_

"_Can't you see me? I'm everywhere"_

Starfire saw a shadow move and threw a starbolt to it. The only result she got was blowing up her closet.

"_You are getting sloppy. Your aim is…disappointing. Now you see why Robin kicked you out of the team"_

"_Robin did not kick me out of the team. He wants me to get better, which is why he is allowing me to rest!"_

"_Stupid girl! Do you really think someone like Robin would deal with someone like you? You may be physically strong but your soul is weak. You don't deserve him. He'll get tired of you…he already is getting tired of you"_

Suddenly, an object was thrown at her and her first response was to blow the heck out of it. The object hit the floor and it was then that Starfire was able to see it was a framed picture of Robin and her. The glass had broken and the picture was half-burned.

"_Is that how you treat Robin's gifts? You are so ungrateful"_

"_You do not know anything about me! I demand you leave my home this instant! You are not welcomed here!"_

"_Do you really think I care?"_

Starfire heard a noise coming from behind her. It had began to rain, it was pouring. She carefully walked towards the nightstand to grab her communicator but right when she was about to hold it, the bed lifted and pinned her on the wall. Starfire gasped and with her eyebeams, made a whole on her bed that she used to escape. Starfire desperately looked around herself, searching for the communicator but it was nowhere to be seen.

"_How pathetic are you? You were going to call for backup? Can't you take me alone by yourself?"_

Starfire again searched for the location of the voice but could not figure it out.

"_I am sick of your games, Slade. I shall find you wherever you are hiding!"_

Starfire flew around the room, moving her furniture out of the way. She pulled her drawers and threw them to the floor. She took everything out of her already destroyed closet and pulled the bed from the wall and pushed it to the floor. She thrashed her room but did not find Slade anywhere.

"_Where are you!"_

As if in cue, Slade appeared from the shadows, in front of her and punched her on her stomach, sending her towards the door, which she destroyed on her way out. Starfire saw Slade's face illuminated by the light of a lighting bolt and she gasped.

"_He is so strong"_

Starfire tasted the iron flavor of her own blood, coming from her mouth. Slade had hit her hard. She saw Slade coming right at her and the only thing she could think of was getting to the main room and locating the Titans from there. She needed help; she could not take Slade by herself, not in her state.

"_Why are running away from me? I thought you wanted to kick me out of you Tower"_

Starfire kept flying through the hallways, making her way to the main room but the thunder, the lighting and her fear diminished her sense of direction. To make matters worse, Slade was running behind her and then next to her, and then in front of her. She could not get away from him. He was right, he was everywhere.

Starfire began panicking. She had no idea where she was and where she was going. She knew she wanted to reach the main room but could not figure out how to get there. The Tower was pitching black and the little light provided by the lighting did not help at all.

"_Cyborg's room! I must find his room!"_

Starfire remembered that Cyborg also had a big communicator in his room. She began opening doors as she found them in the dark. She opened a door and tried to turn the lights on but the electricity had gone off. She walked inside the room, trying to figure out what room she was in. However, her search did not last long as objects were thrown at her. She evaded some but others hit her. She limped towards the door and began looking for another room and another. Every time she opened a door, objects were thrown at her and Slade's evil laugh was heard inside the entire Tower. With the power out and the systems down, anyone could get inside the Tower, and at the moment, anyone could get rid of her.

"_Robin! Please come back!"_

Starfire changed her plan from searching for the main room or Cyborg's room to looking for a place to hide. She could not believe Slade was able to follow her around and be at every place she tried to hide. She had bruises and scratches all over her body, caused by the flying objects she encountered at every room she entered. She had been able to blow some of the items before they hit her but the starbolts that had missed the objects had blown up some place at the Tower.

Starfire arrived at the bathroom again and hid inside it between the tub and toilet. She curled up and cried her heart out, waiting for a sign that the Titans were back from their mission.

"_What in X'hal's name is taking them so long?"_

Starfire heard footsteps coming from the hallway. The doorknob began rattling and the window shattered. The wind blew the curtain and water came inside the room. Starfire closed her eyes and held her head between her hands.

"_This is not happening, it is all a dream. Perhaps if I hide here, someone may come and wake me up from this nightmare"_

The footsteps got louder and louder, as if someone was pacing around the locked door. Every now and then the doorknob rattled, each time faster than the last one and the door was being banged as hard as well.

"_There's no hiding from me. I know what you think. I know what you fear"_

"_I am not afraid of you"_

"_You should"_

Suddenly, the door blasted open and Slade's figure appeared behind it. Starfire pushed herself at the wall, trying to blend in with it and disappear from the room. Slade smiled and slowly made his way towards a frightened-to-death Starfire.

"_Why? Why are you doing this to me?"_

Slade's face grew happier at her words full of fear. He wanted to scare her to death. He wanted to see her plea for her life before he got rid of her, before he made her crazy and loose it once and for all.

"_Why, you say?"_

"_You did not get anything that you did not deserve"_

"_Who are you to say what anyone deserves? You are just a little girl, playing to be a superhero"_

"_And you are an evil man that plays the enemy with no true reason"_

"_You want to know why I do this to you. Why I take pleasure in seeing you suffer? Why I do this to Robin, as well?"_

"_You shall not hurt Robin or I will…"_

Slade ran towards Starfire and kicked her on her stomachStarfire yelled in pain_ "Shut up!"_

Slade looked down at her. He was glad of his accomplishments. He had waited so long to see her like this: weak, defeated, on the floor. He grinned and crouched in front of her. Starfire's face was looking down, blood spilling from her mouth and nose. Slade held Starfire's face from her chin with his fingers and forced Starfire to face him.

"_I do this because you took everything I had, everything I ever wanted. Did you really think you could get away with it?"_

"_If your wish is to destroy me, do it now"_

"_Oh! But that would end up your pain a lot faster and that's not what I want. I want to make you suffer long enough before I kill you"_

Starfire's eyes filled with tears again. Was this real? Was this psychopath going to play with her until she died from the pain? What had she done to deserve this?

"_Please, kill me…do it now"_

"_I'm afraid I can't do that, at least not now, but I have something better in mind. Yet, I think I'll be the only one who will actually like it"_

Slade lifted Starfire from her throat and sent her flying away from the bathroom in one quick motion. Starfire began running as fast as she could before Slade would corner her again. Slade took his time. He knew she could run…but she could not hide from him.

11111111111111

Robin used his retractable staff and twirled it to stop the laser attacks the henchmen threw at him. He then jumped and did a flying kick, destroying 3 of the henchmen's heads, who eventually hit the ground. The fight had taken longer than he had expected and with every passing minute, Robin's worries grew stronger and stronger. By now, he had turned his worries into strength to end this battle as fast as he could. It seemed that the more they fought, the more the number of enemies increased. Robin was tired of this, it had to stop now.

"Raven! Can you hear me?"-Robin asked

"Loud and clear…more louder than clear"-Raven answered

"Is there anyone else on the bridge besides us and the robots?"-Robin asked

Raven, being at the top of the bridge, carefully looked around the bridge and saw that the people who were in danger were long gone.

"We are the only ones here…why?"

"I want you to end this battle now"

"How?"

"Listen carefully, I want you to use your powers and create a giant wave to wash these bastards out of the bridge. They can't stand water and we can't stay here any longer. I have a bad feeling about Starfire"

Raven thought about it but she was not sure Robin was thinking straight.

"But Robin…how about you and the others?"

"I'll tell Beast Boy and Cyborg the plan. We'll grab ourselves against anything that can hold us here. If we leave the bridge, the robots will follow us and we want to catch them by surprise. It sounds risky but I'm seriously getting tired of them…and I'm exhausted"

Raven sighed and decided to do as Robin said. She was also physically tired and she also felt the uneasiness towards Starfire's safety that Robin felt. Either they both were paranoid or they were both right about their intuition. Raven decided not to take anymore chances and asked Robin to give her the ok sign to do her job.

Robin told the rest of the Titans about the plan and they carefully began searching for cover while still battling against the robots. Raven began her chanting and concentrated as hard as she could. Moving that amount of water and then keeping it from getting out of control and breaking the bridge was easier said than done, even for her.

Cyborg began walking towards one of the columns that he intended to hold on to, to stop him from falling. BB's plan was to fly towards Cyborg and stick to the column he was going to hold on to, to cover himself. Robin's plan was to use his rope at the last minute and tie himself on one of the top cables of the bridge. It would only take a couple of seconds for the water to go from one side of the bridge to the other and he was sure he could hold his breath that long if needed.

Robin gave Raven the signal and it only took her a second to raise the water at a height that would cover the entire bridge. The Titans ran to their chosen places to take cover and the giant wave took 5 seconds to wipe the robots out of the bridge into the water. As soon as the wave had crossed, Raven reached the ground and fell on the floor, allowing herself to relax. She then looked around her and saw the robots were gone but so were her friends.

"_No!"_

Raven stood up and began screaming her friend's names. There was no answer. She yelled even louder and reached for her communicator. The GPS showed they were still somewhere near the bridge but she could not see them.

"Robin? Cyborg? Beast Boy?"-Raven screamed

"_I will never listen to any of our plans ever again, Robin!"-Raven thought_

Raven surveyed the area. She looked at the Tower and saw that it was raining over that portion of the city. The clouds did not seem to move away from the Tower.

"_The lights are off"-Raven thought_

It took Raven a couple of seconds to realize what "lights off" meant.

"Starfire_! She's not protected!"-Raven thought_

Raven's search for the others got more desperate. She had to find them and go back to the Tower immediately. Starfire was in danger. Suddenly, a voice calling her name was heard at the distance. She stopped moving and stood there, waiting for the voice to call her name again…and it did. It was Cyborg.

"Cyborg? Where are you?"-Raven asked

"I'm here!"-Cyborg answered

"Where's here? I can't see you!"

"Down here!"

Raven flew away from the bridge and saw Cyborg holding on to his cable hook from his arm. BB grabbed his leg, his eyes still closed.

"My hook's stuck"

Raven nodded and used her powers to get BB and Cyborg back on the bridge. Cyborg used an emergency handle and manually rolled the cable back inside his arm. He then shook BB off his leg.

"Let go! It's over, B!"

BB opened one eye and saw Raven standing next to him. He then saw Cyborg getting sea weeds off himself. BB jumped in happiness.

"We are alive!"

"Of course you are, you idiot. We have to find Robin and get back to the Tower. Power's gone"

"What?"-Cyborg asked

"Look!" Raven said and pointed at the Tower. The Titans frowned and immediately knew that was not a good sign. At that moment, Robin appeared in between them after cutting the rope that was holding him face up above the top of the bridge.

"Great job Raven! What are you guys looking at? We have to go back, now!"-Robin said

"We know Robin. Look"-BB said

Robin's heart raced. The security system was down and the backup had not gone up.

"_Starfire"_

"Let's haul ass, man!"-Cyborg said

Raven took the Titans back to land and began flying towards the Tower. BB turned into an eagle and flew behind her. Robin drove as fast as he could on his bike while Cyborg followed him close behind. In no time, the Titans were back at their Tower, and from the closer look, they were able to see that some windows were shattered.

The Titans hurried up inside the Tower and arrived at the main room, only to find it completely thrashed.

"Where's Starfire?"-Robin asked

Raven got her communicator out and saw that her signal was nowhere to be found. She then concentrated and was able to find a small vibe of her presence. She could not pinpoint her exact location since her last attack minutes ago had drained most of her energy.

"She's somewhere around the Tower. We have to find her fast. Her presence is not that strong"

At these words, Robin felt his heart break and his hands shook. He was right; he should have not left her alone. How could he have been so stupid?

"Titans…separate"

The Titans began looking for Starfire all around the Tower and the more they looked, the more they feared for their friend's sake. The entire Tower looked like if it had been invaded and a long and arduous fight among many people had taken place there. However, it had taken only two people to thrash the Tower as bad as it was right now: Starfire and Slade.

Every door they opened, they found destroyed furniture, holes on the walls, ceilings and floors, and blood stains all over.

"_Blood, her blood! She's bleeding to death somewhere!"-Robin thought_

None of the Titans had any idea what had happened and who had caused such damage to the Tower. They knew the holes had being made by Starfire's bolts or laser beams but they knew she had used them to defend herself, which brought them to another question: Who had attacked her?

The more time it passed, the more they doubted Starfire would be alive. The Titans checked and re-checked their rooms and the bathroom and the conference room and the roof, and the training room. They had checked every room in the Tower except for…

"_The Evidence Room"-Robin thought_

Robin told the Titans to meet him there and in no time, the four Titans had arrived at the last room to check. Robin opened the door, fearing what he could find. Cyborg used his light to illuminate the room since the lights were still off and the rain had stopped. Surprisingly, the Evidence Room looked nothing like the rest of the Tower. The Evidence Room was intact.

"I don't think she came in here"-BB said

"This is the last place. She _has_ to be here"-Robin said

The Titans spread around the room, looking under the cabinets or in between the cases and the walls. Robin walked towards Red X's case…and found Starfire's body, face down on the floor.

"Starfire!"

The Titans quickly joined their leader and gasped at the scene. Starfire was severely hurt and bleeding. She looked…dead.

"Starfire, talk to me"-Robin said

"She looks…d-not…alive"-BB said

"Shut the hell up Beast Boy! She _has_ to be ok"-Robin said

Robin used his cape to clean Starfire's face and checked for a pulse.

"She's still breathing, but it's weak. We have to get her to the emergency room"

Robin carried Starfire and began walking towards the door.

"I'll heal her as much as I can on the way there"-Raven said

"I'll get the room ready"-Cyborg said

"I'll clean the way"-BB said

Robin ran with Starfire in his arms while Raven ran next to him, healing Starfire's minor sores. Cyborg had gotten ahead to prepare the room and BB cleared the way of objects on the floor.

The Titans finally arrived at the room and the first thing Raven and Cyborg did was to kick Robin and BB out. Robin quickly ran towards the already locked door while BB struggled trying to pull him back from it. Robin banged the door with all he had but the door did not budge. Robin's face of fear made BB have second thoughts about his assigned job.

"LET ME IN!"-Robin yelled

"Robin, you have to calm down! We won't let you in until you are chillin' like a villain"-BB said

Robin stopped banging the door and gave BB a death glare.

"What!"

"I said that Raven told me not to let you in until you relaxed"

"What the f—…! Someone almost killed Starfire and you want me to RELAX?"

Raven had used her powers to tell BB to keep Robin out of the emergency room. She knew, as well as the others, that having Robin inside the room in his current condition would not help Starfire's condition at all. They knew that he would be in the way and will try to do everything by himself and everything at once, which would not actually improve Starfire's current state. As much as Robin cared her for, he would truly loose it in situations like this. Seeing Starfire hurt would really get on his nerves and prevent him from thinking straight.

Robin banged the door once again while BB turned into an octopus and held him as tight as he could.

"Raven, who the _hell_ do you think you are? You can't decide this! I'm the leader here, remember? Cyborg, open this goddamned door right now!"

"No can do. Right now is not the best time for you to be here, sorry man" Cyborg yelled from inside. Robin's face showed how furious he was and his fists trembled. BB hoped this would end soon. He did not want to deal with a fuming Robin, especially over something that had happened to Starfire. Something that could have been prevented if they had taken her with them as Robin had thought before they left.

"I knew it! I knew we should have not left her alone! This is all my fault!"-Robin said

"Robin, don't blame yourself. You couldn't know this was going to happen"-BB said

Robin ignored BB's comment and rested his opened hands on the door.

"Starfire! Can you hear me? I'm sorry I wasn't here! I'm sorry about the other night! I didn't mean to hurt you! I wasn't thinking! Please, Star…_forgive me_"-Robin begged

Meanwhile, Raven and Cyborg checked on Starfire. Robin had spent several minutes ordering them to open the door. Cyborg had changed the password and Robin's override number would not work. He cursed them at first, then begged to get in and then just talked to Starfire through the closed door. He did not know if she was listening, he did not care if the others heard what he said. Every passing minute felt like hours to Robin. He hated not to know what was going on and if Starfire was alright. He felt he had the right to now how she was. Not only because she was a member of his team but because she was his girl as well.

Raven and Cyborg had taken care of Starfire's scratches. They had cleaned the blood spills and Raven had made sure she changed Starfire into more comfortable and clean clothes. Starfire was not wearing a blue robe, like the ones used on patients in hospitals. Raven had used her powers to cure as much as she could but she could only do so much given that she was still very tired from the last battle. They all were but Starfire's health was at stake. Robin's screaming did not make their job easier but they were glad he was not inside as he would have made matters more difficult than they already were. Knowing that you have your friend's health in your hands is a very difficult feeling to deal with.

Eventually, Robin desisted from trying to get inside and threw himself on the floor, resting his back on the opposite wall to the emergency room's door. BB kept an eye on him, waiting for Robin to try to catch him by surprise but he never did. He just stayed there, sitting on the floor with his head down, not moving, and not talking. Starfire had broken her right ankle and Cyborg had put a cast on her leg from her foot to her knee. The cast would have to stay for no less than 3 months. At least her previous foot injury would heal faster with the lack of movement.

What surprised them the most was the scratch marks on Starfire's throat.

"_Just like the ones Slade left on her when she tried to kill her the first time"-Raven thought_

They tried to make Starfire look as best as possible to try to diminish Robin's reaction. They knew he would probably go nuts seeing the cast on her leg but it was better than seeing his reaction at a more meticulous examination of her state when he found her at the Evidence Room. The current state of the Tower was another issue. The place looked very similar to the time Slade's robots invaded the Tower. Every single room was battered. All the mirrors were broke. There were holes everywhere; some caused by Starfire's bolts and other caused by a hard hit. Some of the windows were shattered. A few pieces of glass were removed from Starfire's skin.

The strangest thing of all was that the only room that had "survived" the experience was the Evidence Room. Maybe Starfire had gotten tired by the time she got there and lost consciousness and this was the reason why the room was intact. The emergency room was also thrashed but they could still use it as Cyborg had restored power to that room and to the rest of the Tower from there. The Evidence Room was the only one exempt from Starfire's, and whoever she was fighting, rage. After a couple of hours, night had fallen and the rain had returned, this time without thunder and lightning and not as hard as before: just plain, _sad_ rain.

Raven and Cyborg had finally stopped curing Starfire and she was still unconscious on the bed. She looked much better now than she did when they brought her in. Her vitals were stable and she just needed a long rest before she would be able to wake up. Raven and Cyborg walked out of the emergency room and Robin was the first one to jump on them.

"How is she?"-Robin asked

"She'll be fine"-Raven said

Robin glared at Raven, still remembering that it had been her idea to keep Robin outside the room. He walked to the door and realized that it was still locked.

"Tell me the code"-Robin said

Cyborg looked at Raven and she shook her head. Robin glared at Cyborg and he only shrugged.

"Why won't you let me see her? I have to see if she's ok. I need to know who did this"-Robin said

"You won't be able to know. She's still…_asleep_. She's probably very tired"-Raven said

"I'm not going to wake her up. I just want to be with her for a while"-Robin said

"No"-Raven said

"What?"

"I said no"

Robin's angry face returned. He walked towards Raven and looked fiercely at her.

"Why not?"

Raven did not want to answer.

"I asked why not"

Raven frowned. She wanted to keep her thoughts to herself but if he desperately wanted to know the reasons why they were not allowing him to see her, she will honestly say them.

"We don't know if she's completely recovered, mentally speaking. We don't want to trigger it again"

"I want to be there when she wakes up. Can't you understand that?"

"I hate to say it but it seems you are the one who triggers Starfire's visions"

"Are you saying that it's MY fault she's suffering?"

"All the times she's had those _attacks_, she'd be either alone with you or just had an argument with you"

"I can't believe you are saying this!"

"Don't _you_ think this could be a possibility?"

"NO!"

"I'm sorry Robin but while we don't exactly know what makes her this way, we won't allow you two to be alone for long periods of time, which means no more than 5 minutes"

"_Hell_ no! Neither of you have the right to make this kind of decision"

"Probably not but if you want Starfire to get better as much as we do, you'll at least try it out"

"This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. You don't know what you are talking about and I don't have to listen to you"

Robin walked beside them after giving the door a long stare. He wanted to be inside with her. He wanted to hold her hand and be there when she woke up. He would find a way to get in. He just needed the rest of the Titans to be defeated by their sleep and he would jump into action when they least expected. Robin walked to his room and began cleaning it up to give the Titans some time to fall asleep.

Raven, Cyborg and BB knew that Robin would not give up so easily and had already planned to guard Starfire. They knew Robin could be very slick when he wanted something real bad and being with Starfire right now was something he truly wanted to do.

"I know we are all tired but we have to watch the door"-Raven said

"Why? Didn't Cyborg lock it?"-BB asked

"Yes, but what makes you think a simple password will stop Robin from trying to get in?"-Cyborg answered

"Do you really think he'll try after everything we told him?"-BB asked

Raven and Cyborg gave a narrowed-eye "duh" look to BB.

"This is Robin we are talking about! Starfire was in danger and severely hurt. Of course he'll want to see her! He said it himself!"-Cyborg answered

"Wouldn't that make Starfire's health worse?"-BB asked

"Robin doesn't understand that"-Cyborg answered

"He does but he won't accept it"-Raven said

Cyborg and BB nodded. The decision had been made. The Titans would not allow Robin to see her at all this night and then limit the time with her from now on. At the beginning they had thought it was Robin who was in danger around Starfire but tonight their point of view had changed. Perhaps it was Starfire who was in danger being around Robin. In danger from hurting herself and finally loose it for good.

BB and Cyborg decided to take turns to guard the door and Raven stayed inside. Raven's job was not only to keep Robin from coming in from the window or the A/C vent but also to help Starfire sleep well. She knew that it would take more out of her since Starfire's dreams were worse than Robin's but she wanted her friend to have some true rest, even if that meant no sleep to her again.

After a couple of hours, Robin got tired of waiting for the Titans to give up and realized that they would not sleep that night. With two Titans guarding the door and one inside it, there was no way he would be able to get inside without the threat of having any of them giving him a tranquilizer and falling asleep right there. He could not take the risk. He had to see her, even if he was not inside the room with her.

Robin opened what was left of his closet and was happy to find an all-black suit. He put it on and went to the roof. He used a rope to climb down the Tower and stopped at the Emergency Room's window. Luckily for him, the window's curtains were open, and the rain, aimed by his night suit, allowed him to not be caught. He saw Raven meditating inside. He knew what she was doing and a little bit of his resentment against her diminished. He knew his friends only wanted the best for Starfire and that they would never put her in any danger but he still believed he had the right to see her, at least for a second.

The least Robin wanted to do was to be the cause of Starfire's suffering. As a leader, his mind told him that what his friends were doing was somewhat right but as a boyfriend, his heart screamed to be with her, now more than ever. He was in the middle of the argument between his mind and his heart, which were both really strong, but his heart was screaming louder than his mind.

Robin got as close to the window as he could without giving up his presence. He was able to see Starfire lay on the bed. She was asleep. He saw the cast and his heart skipped at beat. She was brutally hurt and it was entirely fault. He could have prevented this but he had not. Robin felt he had failed Starfire in every possible way one can fail a person one loves. He placed his open hand on the window and sighed at the view.

"Star"-Robin whispered

He did not care about the rain or the cold weather. He stayed there for the rest of the night, awake, making sure nothing hurt her again and making sure no one saw him there.

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

**A/N: **Well, this chapter is over. I hope you didn't read this at night. I was writing this chapter like, at 3 in the morning (that's when I get inspired) and was constantly looking behind me…LOL I really got into the Slade part and was getting all freaked out when I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water . Oh, well…see ya later!


	7. Tribute

**Chapter 6**

Tribute

Robin climbed back to the roof and slowly made his way to the door. He opened it and made his way to his room. He opened the door and threw his gadgets on the floor on his way to his bed.

"_Why is it so hot in here?"_

Robin took his shirt and boots off and left only his black pants on. He was soaking wet. He threw himself to the bed and immediately fell asleep. His entire body ached and his head was spinning. The worst part of it all was the heat. Maybe the heater was too high, maybe not. Morning had arrived at Titans Tower and Robin had spent the entire night watching over Starfire. Raven had never left her side either, so he was not able to get inside the room. Robin had gone back to his room and Raven had left the ER minutes after he did.

Cyborg and BB were also tired and even though they did not want to take any chances with Starfire, they decided to rest until at least noon. Raven, Cyborg, BB and Robin fell in a well deserved slumber. On the other hand, Starfire had rested enough and her body had enough strength to begin the new day. She opened her eyes and yawned the last of her sleep away as she stretched her arms.

"_Where am I?"_

Starfire then immediately acknowledged that she was in the ER but she had no idea how she had gotten there. She was even more surprised to see that she had a cast on her right leg. She touched her cast and tried to lift her leg but it hurt and she winced. How was she supposed to walk around with this?

"_No wonder why Robin hated this artifact"_

She tried flying and quickly realized that even though she was not putting as much pressure on it, the "hanging" also made her ankle hurt. She cursed in Tamarean.

"_Rokter Zib!"_

Starfire wanted to stand up and look for her friends but with the cast on, she did not think she would get anywhere without some kind of aid. She looked around, searching for something to help her get moving and when she found nothing but mess she sighed. She looked down at her legs and frowned. However, at that exact moment, an idea formed in her head. She pulled the blanket and struggled with it until she was able to put her casting leg inside it. She used the blanket to support the leg and held it with both of her hands.

"_Now I can fly"_

She got off the bed and stopped at the door. She opened it and once outside, she did not waste time and arrived at Robin's door. She knocked on it.

"Robin, may I come in?"

She waited for a couple of seconds but there was no response. Maybe he was not there.

"Robin, I am coming in"

Starfire opened the door and saw Robin sleeping on his bed. He was laying on his face, his left arm hanging from the side of the bed. Starfire flew to his bed, his presence being everything she could see. She sat on the edge of the bed. She loved the way he looked while he slept. He looked so relaxed, so free…

"_So free of his troubles…with me"_

Starfire combed the back of his head with her fingers and realized his hair was wet. She frowned.

"_Did he go outside in this rain?"_

Starfire paid more attention to her surroundings and saw Robin's clothes on the floor, soaking wet. His bed was also wet and his face was shinning. She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. He was hot, literally.

"_Robin, you have a fever!"_

Starfire removed the blanket from him. She had to dry him up. She tied the blanket she was using to carry her leg around her waist and grabbed clean clothes for Robin to use after he took a bath. She then put Robin on her shoulder and he just groaned.

"You shall take a lukewarm bath, Robin"

Starfire took Robin to the bathroom and put him inside the tub. She looked around and noticed how messy, er—_destroyed_ the room was, it made her shiver. She ignored it and focused on her primary task which was getting Robin feeling better. She opened the water faucet and made sure the water was not cold or hot either, but just ok. She sat on the floor and stretched her leg with the cast while she sat on her other flexed leg. She began trying to wake Robin up, talking to him while she carefully stroked his hair.

"Robin, Robin, you must wake up. Please, wake up"

Starfire had to repeat her pleadings a couple of more times until Robin finally opened his eyes and sneezed.

"You be blessed"

"Thank you"

Robin's eyes widened.

"_Was that…Starfire?"_

Robin turned his head and saw Starfire sitting next to him. He gasped. He turned to her side and held her head between his hands.

"Starfire…how did you? When did you? Are you ok? Are you feeling ok? Oh, my god! I was so afraid I had…l-lost you" He brushed her swollen lips with his thumbs and gave a horrified look at her marks on her neck. "Who did this to you?"

Starfire smiled, touched by his words and his face of pure worry. He looked adorable to her. She cupped his face with her hands.

"Robin, I am alright. I do not know how I got this _cast_ but it does not matter. How are you feeling? Why is the bathroom this way?"

Robin blinked rapidly several times. How could she forget something of this magnitude? Maybe she had hit her head hard enough to forget about it. Robin desperately wanted to know who had done this to her but he also believed that it was better if she did not remembered such a horrible episode. Now if he could only make her forget about the Red X episode…

"You mean you don't remember?"

Starfire shook her head. Robin pulled her face to his and gave her a long kiss. Once they were done, he realized he was inside the bath tub with his pants still on. He sneezed again.

"Bless you. Are you allergic to my kisses?"

Robin laughed and kissed her again.

"I don't think so but if I am I really don't care. That won't keep me from kissing you"

Starfire smiled and he kissed her once more.

"Starfire, what am I doing here?"

"I saw that you had gone to bed soaking wet and you had a fever. My plan was to bring you here so you could get rid of those wet clothes, take a nice bath, dry up and then put you to bed to relax. I believe you have caught _the_ cold"

She was right. He had put himself at the mercy of the elements to take her of her and he was now suffering the consequences. However, he did not care. The sacrifice had been worth it. He had no regrets. He was still sleepy but he wanted to spend time with her until the rest of the Titans woke up and forbade him from doing so. He had to act fast.

"I see. Look, Star. I'll take a quick shower and do all the things you just said. I know you can't move but why don't you wait outside and I'll be out in no time. Ok?"

Starfire nodded. She left the bathroom and waited outside as instructed by Robin. She did not have to wait long for in less than 10 minutes, Robin was out and ready to go. He saw that Starfire was still using the blanket to support herself and frowned.

"Let me carry you, Star. I have an idea to help you fly around freely that doesn't include blankets or crutches"

"Very well"

Robin carried Starfire, making sure he did not hurt her. Starfire put her arms around Robin's neck. Robin was relieved to see her alive and well. He was happy to be able to hold her again. Last night she had been severely hurt when she was in his arms but today she was awake and holding onto him like if her life depended on it. He liked the feeling. She used her left hand to turn his face to hers and looked directly at his eyes –mask.

"What's wrong, Star?"

Starfire shook her head. She felt tears forming in her eyes. Robin's worries grew bigger.

"Starfire, did I hurt you?"

"No"

Starfire could not stop a couple of tears from falling down her cheek. Robin noticed them and furrowed his eyebrows. Starfire smiled at him and he felt he was going to melt with that smile.

"Why are you crying, Star?"

"I just feel very lucky to be with you"

Robin's face denoted his surprise. He believed for a second that she had read his mind and felt his own feelings. He felt the same way as her. More tears fell down Starfire's cheeks and Robin kissed her forehead.

"Please don't cry, Star"-He whispered

Starfire held even tighter to his neck and buried her head in between his neck and her arms. Robin slightly rested his chin on her head, trying to reassure his feelings to her and tell her without words, how lucky he felt of having her as well.

He began walking until they arrived at to his room and he locked the door on his way in. He was not going to let the Titans take her away from him anytime soon. He laid Starfire on his bed and removed the blanket from her. She had stopped crying but her eyes were still red and puffy. He handed her a tissue and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She smiled.

He grabbed his utility belt from the floor and got a flexible measuring tape out. He then began taking measurements of Starfire's foot, the distance between her foot and her waist, and even the waist itself.

"That tickles Robin!"

Robin smiled and continued to take measurements. He wrote everything down on a notepad and then told Starfire to wait inside and do not leave his room. She nodded.

"I shall remain here until you come back. Please, what are you planning to do?"

"It's a surprise, Star. Please, don't leave ok? I'll try not to take long"

Robin left his room and Starfire used this time to relax and decided to take a quick nap before Robin came back. Robin began working on an aid to help Starfire carry the cast around.

111111111111111111111111111111

An hour had passed and Robin returned to his room, trying to make the less noise possible. The other Titans were still asleep and he did not want to disturb them yet. He walked in his room and locked the door. He saw Starfire sleeping on his bed. He did not want to wake her up but she had to be awake to try on his improvised "crutches". He sat on the edge of the bed and called Starfire's name a couple of times. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Robin! You have returned…what is that?" Starfire said pointing at a metal artifact that, to her, had no shape whatsoever. Robin chuckled.

"Uhm…it's a thingy-maggig"

"What?"

Robin laughed. Starfire tried to keep a stern face but she was glad to see Robin having fun…with her.

"Sorry, Star. It's something that will make your flying easier. The only way you can walk with a cast is by using crutches but they are a pain in the…_behind…_and under your arms as well. So I made this!" Robin said, holding the metal artifact proudly in his hand.

"How is that supposed to help me fly?"

"It's pretty simple actually; it kind of combines the same mechanism as the crutches with your idea of the blanket"

"Oh! Shall we call it a _crunket_?"

"A _crunket_? Is that Tamarean?"

"No, it is _crutches_ and _blanket _combined"

Robin frowned.

"Ha-ha, _very_ funny"

It was Starfire's turn to laugh. Eventually, Robin laughed too.

"Actually, this has already been invented and has a name"

"Oh! What is the actual name?"

"It's a…" Robin mumbled.

"I am sorry but I was not able to understand"

Robin mumbled again.

"Robin, either that is the most complicated Earth word I have ever heard or you have no idea what the name of this artifact is"

"Your second option is most likely to be true"

Starfire giggled.

"Ok, now, see this round part? This goes around your waist, preferably inside your clothes. These two long sticks with the circles in between go around your leg. Your leg should go inside it. I'll give you some privacy to put the top part on and then I'll help you adjust the bottom part that will support your leg, ok?"

Starfire nodded and Robin partially covered his eyes with his hands.

"Very funny, Robin. Now go outside and wait for my call"

Robin shrugged and smirked. He walked outside his room and in a couple of minutes he was back inside.

"What is the next step Robin?"

"Sit down on the bed, Star. I'll be with you in a second"

Starfire did as instructed and Robin grabbed a chair and sat at an enough distance for Starfire to be able to stretch her leg. He rested her foot on his lap and began adjusting the metal rings to her cast, leg and foot. In no time, Starfire's metal _crunket_ was ready.

"How does it work, again?"

"You see, people use this to help kids with deformation on their legs to walk. The adjustments I have made, like the ring on your waist and the shoe like ending on your foot, will help you ease the pressure on the leg so you can fly. The ring on your waist will help the entire artifact stay in place and pull it up. The metal shoe at the bottom will give support to the leg and the rings around the entire leg help it stay in place and prevent it for making movements that may hurt you"

Starfire studied the artifact and mentally reviewed Robin's explanation until itt made sense.

"How are we to know if it works?"

"Fly. I'll stay close instead you need to fall down, just fall over me!"

Starfire smiled.

"Ok"

Starfire began lifting herself in a very slow motion until she was well above the floor.

"Move around to see if it carries the weight and the movements"

Starfire was not sure about it but trusted Robin enough to know that he would not do anything to harm her. She slowly began moving around the room and the _crunket_ did not break. Robin was right; she was going to be able to fly around as long as she was wearing the artifact.

"Wondrous, Robin! You are a genius!"

Robin smiled and Starfire hugged him fiercely. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and thanked him with another hug.

"Starfire…crushing bones…may need a…_crunket_…for my back…in the future…"

Starfire gasped and released Robin.

"I apologize. It is just that I was worried that I would be constrained to my bed while I used this cast. How long does it have to stay there?"

"I don't know exactly but it can't be less than a month"

Starfire flinched.

"A…whole month?"

"Maybe more"

"…"

Robin hugged her and stroked her hair with his hands.

"It's ok, Star. Maybe Raven can accelerate the healing with her powers"

"I shall ask her. I do not wish to use this cast for long"

"Sure thing, Star. Maybe you will be free of this thing by Valentine's Day and we can go to the ice-rink at the mall"

"Really? I would love that! Do you truly believe I may be healed by then?"

"Well, today is January 3rd so one month will be…"

"Robin! Today is the 3rd day of the month?"

"Uhm, yeah…why?"

Starfire hugged Robin and sighed. He hugged her back and asked her what was wrong.

"Today is the anniversary of Red X' death"

Robin frowned. The hit on the head had been strong but had not made her forget about Red X.

"Oh, are you planning on doing something?"

"I cannot do much in this condition or with this horrible weather but I do have something in mind"

"Do you need help with anything?"

Starfire did not know if it was safe for Robin to help her out. They had had a big argument because of Red X just 4 days ago.

"I think I can handle it myself"

"But I want to help you, please?"

Starfire doubted for a second and decided to allow him to help. She did not want to start another argument because of Red X.

"Very well. But if you feel like not doing something let me know, ok?"

"I will"

"Do you promise?"

"I promise"

"Let us have breakfast feast and awake the others, so you can tell me what happened to the bathroom and the rest of the Tower. I found it very messy"

"Sure"

Robin knew that as soon as the Titans woke up, her time with Starfire was bound to be over. Yet, he had to take the risk if he wanted Starfire to go on with her plans and if the wanted to clean the Tower.

"_If they wont let me be with her, I won't let them sleep"-Robin thought mischievously_

Robin smirked and followed Starfire to wake up the rest of the Titans. The first person they woke up was Raven. Robin knocked loudly at her door and she opened with a growl and an annoyed face.

"What?"

"Good morning, Raven! Guess who woke up?"

Robin pointed at Starfire with his thumb and Starfire flew in between them, her hands clasped together and her big bright smile on her bumped face.

"Hello Raven! Are you ready to have breakfast?"

"_Starfire_…and…Robin?"

Robin smirked and stuck his tongue out at Raven while Raven gave him an _I-will-get-for-this_ face.

"What's the matter, Raven? Surprised to see us this early _together_?"

Raven ignored Robin's question and directed her attention to Starfire. She was glad she looked ok, regardless of the marks on her body and the…flying cast.

"What's that on your leg, Starfire?"

"Oh! It's a _crunket_! Robin made it for me to help fly without worrying about my cast!"

"_Crun…ket_? Oh, really? It seems Robin had a lot of time on his hands"

"Indeed, I woke Robin up early this morning and after he showered he made this for me. Is he not the best friend who is a boy ever?"

"You have no idea, Starfire"

Robin's smile of triumph was plastered all over his face as he listened to Starfire and Raven's conversation. He was actually having fun for a change.

"So, Raven. Why don't you wake BB and Cyborg up and we meet at the main room? Starfire and I will wait for you there"

"Sure thing, Robin. We _won't_ take long"

With that, Starfire and Robin left Raven's room and made their way to the main room while Raven woke BB and Cyborg up. In no time, all five Titans were at the main room, looking at the mess their Tower was.

"I still do not understand what caused this chaos"

"We don't know either, Star"-BB said

"Well, it's not gonna clean up by itself, ya know"-Cyborg said

"No, it won't. Why doesn't Starfire clean the kitchen only enough to allow her to make breakfast and the rest of us clean the rest of the Tower and then come back to clean the main room after we eat what Starfire makes for us?"-Raven asked

"That's sounds like a lot of work for Starfire, don't you think Raven?"-Robin asked

"Worry not Robin. Thanks to your invention, I can perform my assigned job"

"See Robin? Your invention _did_ pay off"-Raven said

"Take your time, my friends. I shall reward you with a big breakfast feast!"

"Cool, Starfire! You go girl!"-BB said

"Let's get our butts to work!"-Cyborg said

The four Titans walked to the entrance and left the main room to do their tasks. They were to clean their rooms and then meet at the Training Room to start the cleaning there. They would move from room to room together until they reached the main room like Raven had said. They did not think they would be able to clean the entire Tower before breakfast but were sure that they could advance the cleaning by much.

"Is every one clear about what they are supposed to do?"-Raven asked

The Titans agreed and Robin sneezed on them.

"Bless you?"-Cyborg said

"Dude, say it! Don't spray it!"-BB said

"Are we supposed to take that as a yes?"-Raven asked

"Take it as whatever you want, Raven"-Robin answered

"_Ok_, let's go"-Raven said

Robin began walking without saying a word and the rest of the Titans followed him closely. He sneezed a couple of more times. He was beginning to feel the effects of last night's vigilance.

"Robin, remember that you can't be with Starfire. We'll be watching you"-Raven said

Robin stopped and gave Raven the angriest look he could.

"I hope you are happy you _zorblorkin clorbag_"-Robin said and then kept going to his room to make final clean-ups.

The rest of the Titans just stood there while Robin disappeared at the corner of the hallway.

"Dude! He just called you a bad name in Tamarean"-BB joked

"Shut up and get to work"-Raven said

Each of the Titans went to their respective rooms and began cleaning them. Thanks to their powers, cleaning half of the Tower took them an hour. They returned to the main room and ate what Starfire had cooked for them and then returned to clean the other half of the Tower. Starfire decided to clean the main room and her room by herself.

11111111111111111111

By noon, Titans Tower was back to normal and Cyborg and Robin were performing the final repairs outside the Tower. BB was asleep in his room and Raven and Starfire were in Raven's room, meditating. Raven had recommend Starfire to meditate with her so she could have a better chance to remember what had happened at the Tower the night before.

_"We need to know who did this to prevent it from happening again, Starfire"_ Raven had told Starfire and she had agreed. Maybe meditating could prevent the past events from happening ever again.

While Starfire meditated, Raven tried to search Starfire's mind for memories of last night but she soon realized that Starfire was blocking her from entering her mind.

"_Why is she blocking me? How does she know _how_ to block me?"_

Starfire was deep in mediation, working hard to stop Raven from getting into her mind. She trusted Raven's intentions were good but she could not risk getting discovered, at least not now or anytime soon. Raven stopped trying to reach into Starfire's mind and continued her own meditation. As much as she wanted to know what had happened, she knew she had to let go of it for now. Most of all, she respected her friend's wishes to lock her mind away from _intruders_. She had the right to do it.

"_I mean, I do it all the time, don't I?"_

"Raven?"

Raven opened her eyes and saw that Starfire had stopped meditating. She was now completely on the floor.

"Raven, it is uncomfortable to mediate with my leg hanging. I wish to stop now"

Raven's feet touched the floor and studied Starfire's face. She honestly seemed annoyed by the cast.

"I thought Robin's invention was helpful"

"Oh, but it is! However, my leg is numb by now"

"I see"

"Raven, are you aware of today's date?"

Raven sighed. She was hoping Starfire would not remember the past but she did. She wondered if Robin knew about it. She nodded.

"Yes, are you still doing something?"

"Indeed, I wish to take flowers to the place he…left us, nothing major as this weather might not allow us to do more"

"Yes, it poured all night and it will probably continue today"

"I will inform Robin and Cyborg. May you inform Beast Boy? I wish to go now that rain is not present"

"I'll get on it"

"Thanks Raven"

Starfire began flying to Raven's door but she stopped when Raven called her name.

"Yes, Raven?"

"Starfire, keeping secrets may seem to be the best option at times. Keeping secrets keeps people we love from hurting but it's not worth it if keeping these secrets from others makes you miserable"

Starfire looked at Raven. Raven noticed her change of mood on her face. She seemed upset at Raven's comment.

"I do not know what you are talking about"

"Look, Starfire. I'm not going to force you to tell me what happened yesterday but please keep in mind that we all want the best for you. Even if we do things that don't seem like it, we do, we really do"

Starfire gave Raven a last cold look before opening the door and closing it a little bit harder than needed. Raven crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor.

"_I know you are hiding something Starfire and I'll find out what it is for your own good"_

Starfire flew rapidly away from Raven's room and did not stop until she found Robin and Cyborg. They were fixing the outer walls and changing the windows of the main room. Starfire sighed deeply before faking a smile and clinging on Robin's neck.

"Starfire! Are you ok?"

"Yes I am Robin"

"'Sup lil lady! Feeling better?"

"Yes, Cyborg. Raven informed me about the cast. Even though it is very uncomfortable I wish to thank you for your aid"

Starfire flew from Robin to Cyborg and gave him a big hug. Cyborg patted Starfire's head and smirked at Robin.

"Your girl's hugging me"

Robin's eyes narrowed. It took them a couple of seconds before they all laughed at Robin's face.

"No problem, Star. As long as you are ok then we are all ok"

"I am exceptionally in debt with all of you"

"In _debt_? Starfire, this is what friends are for!"

"Exactly, Star"-Robin said

"Well…man, you ain't her friend, you are her boyfriend…you have a different purpose"

Robin's face became red and Starfire giggled.

"Cyborg! Shut up!"

Starfire flew to Robin and hugged him again.

"Robin, how much longer will the both of you be busy?"

Robin gave Starfire's question a little thought. The Tower was almost completely repaired. They just needed to seal the holes on the wall in the main room and change the big window.

"About an hour or so, is there anything you need Star?"

Starfire nodded.

"I wish to buy flowers and take them to Red X's last resting place"

Cyborg flinched and expected Robin to hit the roof and get on her case but he did not. He smiled and held Starfire's face by her chin.

"Sure thing, Star. Can you wait an hour?"

"Yes, I can. Do you need any assistance?"

"Thanks but I think we have it covered, right Cyborg?"

"Yeah, Star. Relax, watch some TV, I think that fungus show you like is on now"

"Wondrous! Where is the remote?"

"Uhm…under the couch?"-Cyborg guessed

Starfire used her right hand to lift the couch with no problem at all and found the remote. She giggled and Cyborg shook his head at his lucky guess. She immediately turned the TV on and soon became absorbed by her favorite show. Robin looked at her for a couple of minutes until Cyborg brought him back to reality.

"You are gonna wear her out if you keep looking at her that long"-Cyborg joked

"Are you still thinking of keeping me away from her?"

Cyborg's face became serious and he stopped what he was doing.

"I know it sounds stupid but Raven had some very good points. We just want the best for you two"

"You can't keep me away from her forever, you know?"

"Don't take it personal man"

"Look, I'm not gonna tell you what I think about it because Starfire may hear us and I don't want to worry her"

Cyborg looked at Starfire and then at Robin who was again lost in her presence.

"You were very scared…last night…weren't you?"

Robin kept his eyes on her while he answered Cyborg's question.

"I was terrified. I thought I had lost her"

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

Robin took a moment to answer.

"Why wouldn't she? I love her"

Cyborg had a sudden feeling of guilt from keeping Robin away from her. The way he had said those last words, especially the last sentence had made Cyborg feel sad about them. He knew they were having some major problems between them but he could tell that none of them had changed what Robin felt for her. Cyborg never thought Robin would get so attached to someone as he always gave an impression of being a little bit too determined and sometimes even _cold_. Starfire had definitely changed that in him.

Robin sighed and returned working and after a couple of seconds Cyborg did the same. Cyborg made a mental note about telling Raven what Robin had told him. Never had he told them, out loud, the l-word to them about Star, or anyone for that matter.

"_Well, there _was_ that time with Mother Mae-Eye"-Cyborg thought_

However, that had not been voluntarily and had not been from the heart. Robin was not only fighting against whatever it was that he was suffering with Starfire but he was somehow fighting _against_ his friends as well. He did not need to have more obstacles in his life and Cyborg felt responsible for giving Robin more trouble than he needed. He was definitely going to try to talk Raven out of their plan. Seeing Robin suffering like this made Cyborg realize how much they were making Robin's life miserable because of mere speculations.

At another room in the Tower, Raven pounded the door at BB's room to wake him up. After several loud poundings, BB opened the door. His hair was all messed up and he was wearing only one shoe. His clothes were wrinkled and his eyes were half-closed.

"_Hello_, Raven! I was taking my noon nap!"

"Don't you think you take too _many_ naps?"

"Let's see: My morning nap, my noon nap, my early-afternoon nap, my late-afternoon nap, my before-bed nap, my beauty sleep and my sleep-sleep. Wow Raven! I have too _few_ naps!"

Raven rolled her eyes while BB scratched his butt.

"So, why are you eager to see me, Raven?"

"Me? Not really. Starfire wants us to go with her to the forest where Slade's lair was to leave flowers for Red X"

"Oh! You're right. Today was the day…of well…_that_. Is Robin ok with this?"

"I don't know. Starfire was gonna take care of it"

BB's stomach rumbled.

"Raven, you think we could eat something before we leave?"

"I think we'll have to eat outside. Starfire cooked the last of our food this morning. All the other food was wasted last night"

"Aw, man!"

"Get ready, we'll be leaving soon"

"Ok…alright" BB said while he mumbled other things and slowly closed his door. Raven stood there for a couple of seconds and heard BB snoring again.

"Get up!"

BB kept snoring and Raven used her powers to open the door and pushed BB out of his bed. His faced smacked the floor and a small tear appeared on the corner of his eyes.

"That was mean of you Raven"

"I told you we don't have much time"

"But…But…this will totally throw off my nap schedule"

Raven began glowing and BB flinched. He knew not to mess with Raven that much.

"Ok…sorry, my bad…be right back"

BB ran outside his room and was soon in the bathroom taking a shower. Raven made her way to the main room and saw Starfire on the couch, watching TV and Robin and Cyborg working on the few last repairs of the Tower. Raven sat next to Starfire on the couch.

"What did Robin say?"

"He said it was ok. We shall be leaving the Tower as soon as they finish their work"

"Oh! So he didn't get mad?"

"Not at all! He told me to wait for about an hour and we would leave"

"I guess it's ok"

Starfire nodded and continued to watch her show. Raven looked at Robin and he looked back. He was still mad at her. They stared at each other, waiting to see who moved their gaze first but none of them did. Cyborg noticed the silent argument between them and called Robin's name, asking him to stop at the pizza parlor before going to Slade's old lair. Robin was forced to look away and Raven did the same.

"We have no food here man! I bet BB's starving too!"

"Fine. We'll go to the pizza parlor, then to buy the flowers, then to the forest and then we will buy some groceries"

"Alrighty"

Cyborg and Robin kept working on their tasks without really talking to each other. Raven pretended to watch the TV but was still trying to get inside Starfire's mind. Starfire still kept blocking her from getting in. In about an hour, the repairs had ended and the Tower was back to normal. Robin and Cyborg joined Raven and Starfire on the couch. Cyborg sat next to Raven and Robin sat next to Starfire. He held her hand.

"Ready to go?"-Robin asked

"I am afraid Beast Boy is not here yet"-Starfire answered

"I woke him up and told him, he should be here by now"-Raven said

"Maybe I oughta…" Cyborg began but was interrupted by the sound of the main door opening. All of them turned back to see BB crawling inside the room.

"Beast Boy! Are you alright?"-Robin said

"What happened?" Cyborg asked and ran to him. "Are you ok, buddy?"

"Need…food…please"-BB answered

The Titans fell to the floor.

"What the? Beast Boy, we thought someone had attacked you!"-Robin said

"Attacked me? Puh-lease! No one can defeat Beast Boy!"

"I can"-Raven said

BB gulped. Robin sneezed.

"Bless you"-The Titans said

"Thanks. Ok, enough. Let's get going. We have a lot of things to do"

Robin did not feel like driving his bike with the sudden dizziness he had and the almost as frequent sneezing. He did not want to provoke an accident because he had to close his eyes for 2 seconds to sneeze. They all went in the T-Car, drove by Cyborg. Raven was the co-pilot and BB, Robin and Starfire were on the back. As usual, BB had sat behind Raven to bother her during the entire trip. Robin had sat behind Cyborg and Starfire was in the middle.

"Raven, you really need to find better ways to wake people up, _especially_ me"-BB said

"Do you really think _I_ care?"-Raven asked

"_I_ can make you care"

"_No_, you can't"

"Oh! Come on, Raven! Smile, you are on Candid Camera!"

"Have you been watching re-runs of old shows…_again_?"

"Yeah"

"…"

BB kept bothering Raven while Cyborg drove to the pizza parlor, his stomach rumbling as loud as the car itself.

"_This time I'll get the last slice"-Cyborg thought_

Starfire had been quiet since they left the Tower. Robin found her mood changes unusual. It was not normal for Starfire to be cheery and then gloomy and then melancholic and then cheery and then sad in less than a few hours. Robin squeezed her hand that was still in his but she did not look at him. She seemed lost in her thoughts.

"_I wonder what has her so troubled"_

Robin leaned on to her face and whispered in her ear.

"What are you thinking about?"

Starfire snapped back to reality and it took her a few seconds to react.

"Yes, Robin. I agree with you"

Robin smiled and followed her lack-of-attention response.

"You do? You agree to break-up?"

Starfire gaped. Robin tried his best to put a serious face while he did his little prank.

"What? No! Break up? Why? I do not agree at all!"

Robin laughed and she dropped her mouth even more. She felt hurt.

"Robin, what in X'hal's name is so funny? Are you happy to break up with me?"

Robin laughed even more. Starfire snapped her hand from his.

"Sorry, Star…it's a joke" He laughed some more at her expression. "It's just that I asked you what you were thinking and your answer was not exactly what I was expecting and I couldn't help to make a joke about it"

"Well, it was NOT funny, Robin"

"I didn't know you cared for me that much"

"I do not. I actually go out with you so you will not leave me homeless"

Robin gaped and she began laughing.

"Ok…I get your point"

They both laughed.

"I do care for you Robin, very, very much. Do not have a doubt about it"

"What will you do if I said I don't believe you?"

"I would say you are being an insensitive _clorbag_"

Robin laughed.

"Would you believe me if I told you I called Raven a _zorblorkin clorbag_?"

Starfire gasped.

"You did? Why would you call Raven by such a horrible name?"

_"'Cause she deserves it"_ Robin thought. "I was…practicing my Tamarean?" Robin lied.

Starfire shook her head.

"Bad, bad Robin! You are making bad use of what I teach you. Why did you call her like that?"

Robin sneezed.

"Bless you"

"Thanks…I'll tell you later, when we are alone"

"_If we get the chance"_

Starfire nodded and held Robin's hand again. Moments like this made her want to change her decision about what she had in mind. Maybe she would.

"_I cannot risk it anymore"_

"We're here! Food time!" Cyborg said while he parked the T-Car. The Titans got out of the car and made their way up to the pizza parlor. They ordered their pizzas and sat a table at the other end of the place. That had grown to be their table: the Titans table. The day was cloudy but no more rain fell, at least for now. Raven stared at the menacing clouds.

"We really should've brought umbrellas"-Raven said

"Yeah…hopefully we won't get sick"-Cyborg said

"I already am!"-Robin said

"Yeah and you spread your germs on us this morning"-BB said

"Did you?"-Starfire asked

"Accidentally, yes"-Robin answered

Starfire sneezed.

"Bless you"-The Titans said

"I think you already got one of us sick"-BB said

"You could have stopped yourself from kissing Star for at least a week, man! Now you got her sick"

"I do not believe I am sick"

Starfire sneezed again.

"Or maybe I am"

Starfire sneezed again.

"At least it's not like that time at the pier when you almost blew up the place"

"That was an allergy-related sickness. I do not think I will blow our home with my sneezing this time"

The waitress arrived with the pizza at the table. The Titans began eating and talked for a while. Starfire was again quiet but this time, none of them asked her what was wrong with her because they already knew. They knew Starfire was having flashbacks of the time she came here with Red X before he died. She looked inside the parlor and saw the booth were she had sat with Red X a little bit more than a year ago. Starfire had confessed to him that she knew he was not dead. She could almost feel his presence next to her. She closed her eyes to not cry.

Robin noticed Starfire's uneasiness and held her hand. Starfire looked at him and he smirked.

"You want to leave now?"

Starfire nodded.

The Titans left the parlor and went to the flower store. They bought the biggest flower arrangement they found and made their way to the forest. They parked their car and walked inside the forest. As opposed to last year, the path was not as clear and the T-Car would not get inside it. They had to walk to Slade's old lair.

The breeze became cold and the sky was filled with dark clouds.

"I think it is going to rain"-Raven said

"We shall not take long"-Starfire said

A few minutes later, the Titans had arrived at the place where Red X had died. The tree which served as an entrance to Slade's lair was gone. The burnt ground was the only thing left. The scene made the Titans shiver. Even though they thought they had left all of this past behind, they knew that deep inside, they still remembered every single detail of that day at this place. It was all in their mind, as if it had been yesterday.

The Titans circled the place where Red X had disintegrated and they all looked down at the empty spot. The rain began pouring. None of them moved. Their eyes were fixed at the now muddy spot. It was the same place, the same people and even the same weather. Robin gave Starfire the flower arrangement and she carefully put it on the ground.

Starfire closed her eyes and Robin put his arm around her waist. She sobbed quietly and then turned to hug Robin. He hugged her back and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. The rest of the Titans stared at the ground, each one of them lost in their own memories of the experience. Starfire stopped sobbing and hugged Robin even tighter. He closed his eyes and kissed her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Star"

Starfire shook her head and told Robin he had nothing to apologize for. Robin knew it was better for them to leave before Starfire felt worse.

"Let's go Star"

Starfire nodded. The Titans left the forest and made their way to the grocery store. The drive to the grocery store was quiet. They arrived at the parking lot and parked near the entrance. Cyborg turned the car off but none of them moved from their seats. They were still recalling their episode at the forest minutes ago, along with all the memories it brought to their mind. Raven sighed and was the first one to leave the car. Cyborg followed her and BB followed Cyborg. Robin stayed inside when he heard Starfire say she was not going in with them.

"Robin, aren't you coming?"-Raven asked

"No"

Raven frowned. She knew where Robin was going with this. She was not going to allow Robin to be alone with her again as long as they were not sure if he was not the one who caused her illness.

"Raven, I really don't think Star should be left alone, especially now"

"Robin, may I talk to you _outside_ the car?"

Robin wished he could stay inside the car and make Raven state her ideas in front of Starfire. He knew Starfire would defend Robin's point of view as well but he was also aware that this was not the best moment to start an argument in front of Starfire. She was in no condition to argue with anyone.

"Sure, whatever"

Robin patted Starfire's leg and told her he would be right back. She did not even nod. Robin got off the car and followed Raven to a considerable distance away from the car where none of the other Titans could hear them.

"What the _heck_ is your problem, Raven? Don't you see how Starfire is and you want to leave her _alone_ in the car?"

"I just don't think you are the _bes_t person to leave her with"

"Cut the crap, Raven. She needs company and I am staying with her"

"Are you aware that you are the only one who is _allowed_ to use the card to buy stuff?"

Robin frowned.

"I'll give Cyborg access to use it"

"You can't. There is a lot of money in that account and you are the one responsible for its use. You know better than no one that the card is useless without your fingerprinted authorization"

Robin was pissed. He knew Raven was right. He had to go with them.

"Call me when you get to the cash register"

"No! You are _not _staying with her"

"You _can't_ tell me what to do"

"I _am_ now"

"I don't have to argue with you. I'm the leader, I'm the one who makes the decisions and unless you want to start a diet for a few weeks, you better get your mouth shut and get your _ass_ in that store. Call me when you are at the register"

"I don't think you want Starfire starving"

"She won't"

"Are you listening to yourself? You are saying plain stupidities and acting like a complete idiot. Stop acting with your heart and _listen_ to your head"

"I can't"

"Can't or won't"

"_Pick_ one"

Robin looked at Starfire when she lay down on the back seat. She was out of site from where they were standing.

"Do you want me to tell Starfire what happened last night? Do you want me to tell her that she almost died?"

"Shut up"

"I will Robin. If you don't come with us, I will tell her that she was the one who destroyed the Tower and hurt herself. You think she can handle it right now? I don't think she can"

"Why are you trying to hurt her?"

"I'm trying to protect her"

"Protect her? _Sure_, from whom?"

"From _you_"

Robin walked back to the car and Raven crossed her arms. She did not want to leave them alone and cause another incident like the one that took place last night but she would not allow them to hurt each other any more.

Robin got inside the car and told Starfire something the others could not hear. She nodded and he turned the car on to turn the A/C on. He locked the door and closed it. He then walked in front of the Titans, aiming to the front door.

"Let's go"-Robin said

They all followed him inside the grocery store and bought everything that they needed to not have the necessity of coming back any time soon.

"_I hope you are happy, Raven"-Robin thought_

111111111111111111111111111111111

Night came and the Titans fell asleep. They had done many things during the day and with the lack of sleep from last night, they were eager to get under their covers and do not wake up until the next day. BB, Cyborg and Raven went to their rooms and immediately fell asleep. On the other hand, Robin had waited until they all were sound asleep and went inside Starfire's room. She was asleep as well.

Robin walked to her. He stood in front of her and stretched his arm to stroke her hair but he stopped himself before his hand reached her. Raven's words came into his mind.

"_I'm trying to protect her"_

"_Protect her? Sure, from whom?"_

"_From you"_

Robin sighed. He knew about the saying that you always hurt the ones you loved but never before he believed it to be true. He now did. It seemed the more he wanted to help her, the more he ended up hurting her. He was running out of ideas. She was running out of options.

"I don't want to hurt you any more"-Robin whispered

Robin kneeled down beside her bed and stared at her for a long time. She never woke up. Robin began to feel dizzy again and decided that it was time to rest. It had been a long day and his cold did not make it any easier. He stood up and made sure Starfire was covered and that her sleeping position did not affect her cast leg.

He walked to the door and looked at her a few seconds before closing the door behind him.

"_What is wrong with me? I'm…becoming…weak"_

Robin realized he was acting in ways he never thought he would act. Starfire was changing his ideas, his beliefs and his soul.

"_Maybe Raven's right, maybe we are _not _meant to be together"_

The idea of breaking up with Starfire crossed his mind. They were getting too involved and too dependent of each other. Maybe dating was not such a good idea. He had begun to believe their relationship was affecting their job; the job they were "hired" to do. When had he lost himself in this relationship? When had he stopped being himself? When had he begun living life just for her?

Robin tried to imagine the consequences of breaking up with her. Their co-worker relationship would certainly be affected but he knew Starfire would do the work anyway. The part that he was sure he would not be able to regain was her friendship. Things between them would never be the same. She would never be the same. He would never be the same. He knew dating a coworker was a complex situation from which nothing good for the actual team was gained. He should have seen this coming.

He knew that his old self would have not made such a decision of screwing everything else for the sake of being with her. However, he had not planned for this to happen. Their bond just grew and grew stronger until the only step to move to was to become a couple –an official couple. Back then, everyone saw what the same people now denied: Robin and Starfire were meant for each other.

He hated himself for allowing this relationship to go this far without really looking into the future: The future of the team, his future and her future. He had even come to divide the future of the team into one group and his and Starfire's future into another group. There was no him or her, there was only a _them_. He now started to believe that "them" was not what was supposed to be. Maybe there should have never being a "them", maybe the "them" was the reason all _their_ problems started in the first place. Maybe it was time for a change. The true question being who was would have the courage to stand up and end the relationship.

The true question was which of the two of _them_ would say "No more."

Robin shook his head. This was too much analyzing for just one night. His headache was getting worse. He had to rest. Up till now, one question still haunted his already consumed mind. A question that was getting more and more important as the day had progressed but that had not being answered yet. Or perhaps, the answer he had come up with was not the one he had wanted to hear.

"_Does she love Red X?"_

Robin sighed deeply and decided it was time to leave all this behind. He was probably not thinking straight and hoped the new day would clear his mind. He knew what he had to do but he did not want to do it. He always thought the worse thing that could happen to anyone was to have a problem and had no idea how to solve it. He now knew that the real challenge was to use the answer when found, especially when the solution was worse than the actual problem.

Robin got to this bed and quickly fell asleep. Nightmares would haunt them tonight more than ever but his nightmares tonight would not be able to overcome the true horror of his real life.

Starfire opened her eyes. She knew Robin had been there with her but she did not want to talk to him about the events of today. He needed to clear his mind and she needed to clean her soul.

Starfire stood on her bed and reached the _crunket_. She put it on and opened the drawer of the nightstand next to her. She reached inside and pulled a small object out of it and placed it in her pocket. She got outside her room and arrived at the entrance of the Evidence Room.

"_This is it"_

She carefully opened the door and walked inside, locking the door from the inside. She began flying towards the most known and cared for item in the entire room. Hands in her pockets she stopped in front of the giant glass case at the corner of the room. She stared at its content for a while and then opened the glass door.

The uniform was intact, kept exactly as the day it was brought to the room. She felt her stomach twisting and her throat closing from the melancholic feeling that invaded her body but she managed to overcome it. She had made a decision and there was no turning back now. She reached for her pocket and got the small object in her hand. It was Red X's communicator.

She looked at it for small seconds and slowly put it at the inside bottom part of the glass case. While still looking at it, she carefully closed the door and locked it, leaving the communicator inside. She closed her eyes as to keep a mental picture of the moment. She did not plan to come to this room again. Not any time soon.

"_It is time to let go…of everything and everyone"_

She gave her back to the case and flew outside the room and quickly made her way to her own room. She never looked back. She did not stop until she reached her room. She got on her bed, tossing the _crunket _to the side. She closed her eyes and welcomed the nightmares that could not be worse than the reality she was living in today.

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

**A/N: **More to come. Much, much more.


	8. Moving On

**Chapter 7 **

"Moving On"

Clean, white snow covered Jump City. Starfire stared at the scene from the living room while she covered herself with a blanket. It had been a rough night for her. Many questions of the future about her relationship with Robin haunted her all night. Nightmares were also present and to top things up, Robin had been coughing and sneezing all night. She had gone to the restroom in the early morning hours and had walked by Robin's door. She had stopped for a second and had been really close to knocking on his door but she did not.

Starfire felt the consequences of getting wet on such a cold weather. She had woken up several times to blow her nose and had tossed and turned on her bed, trying to find that perfect position in which her nostrils would not clog. She figured Robin had been struggling with the same dilemmas. During her nightly ordeal she had remembered about a Tamarean recipe to cure what Earthlings called the _common cold_.

"_Why do they call it common cold if there is nothing_ common_ about it?"_

Starfire had woken up early to prepare the remedy. Even though she did not know how to act around Robin, she felt responsible for his illness. Her personal problems were not going to stop her from trying to make Robin feel better. She knew it would be very difficult to make Robin drink the remedy as it tasted worse than the "Pudding of Sadness" that she had prepared when Cyborg quit the team a long time ago.

She was waiting for the water to boil enough to mix the alien ingredients. She had planned that by the time Robin woke up, the remedy would be almost ready. Since she also suffered from the cold, Robin would see the effects of the remedy and she hoped the results would encourage Robin to drink it himself. However, the real problem was to try not to worry Robin with her attitude. For some reason, she did not feel confident enough to be around him.

She was afraid he would be upset about the whole staying-in-the-car situation or because of the depressing state she was in yesterday. Robin did not look happy when he told her he was going to go with the rest of the Titans to do the shopping. She believed he had gotten jealous again and probably mad at her attitude. Even though he was mad at something else –or somebody else for that matter, she strongly believed she had been the cause of Robin's anger.

After they had come back from the grocery store, none of them had actually exchanged words. Starfire wanted to believe that they were all tired and not actually upset with her. Why would they? Because she forced them to stand under the pouring rain in this cold weather to pay respects to a person who had hurt them very much?

"_Yet he also helped us very much as well."_

Starfire heard the door open and saw Robin's reflection on the window. He had a box of tissues in his hand and a tissue on the other. He sneezed and cursed at his illness. He walked inside and saw Starfire standing by the window. He stopped and though about going back to his room but he saw her watching him.

"_What do I do?" _Robin thought."Hi Starfire," Robin said, as this had been the only phrase that had formed in his mind. Robin hoped Starfire had not seen his hesitation in coming inside the room or in greeting her.

"Hello, Robin."

Robin kept walking to the kitchen feeling as uncomfortable as when one runs into an ex-girlfriend with whom one did not end the relationship in good terms. He knew he did not have to feel this way as he had not broken up with Starfire, yet he could not help it. Was the magic gone? Had his feelings been nothing more than an immature crush? Had he never really felt love for her? What did she feel for him? He did not know and he was afraid of finding out.

He saw the kettle on the stove and wondered if Raven was up as well. He did not want to see her face this early. She was not his favorite person at the moment and his sickness made matters worse.

"Is Raven up?" Robin asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. "No. The kettle is mine." Starfire replied, trying to sound as casual as well. They were both failed attempts.

"Since when do you drink tea?" Robin asked pointing at the kettle. Starfire shook her head.

"I have _the cold_. I am preparing a Tamarean remedy to cure it."

"Tamareans have the cure for the common cold?"

"Yes."

Robin walked close to the kettle and it began whistling. Starfire flew to it and turned the fire off. Robin felt he was too close to her and walked to the opposite side of the counter.

"_Why do I have to be away from her?"_ Robin thought_. "Because you are the cause of her suffering,"_ The now usual haunting voice in the back of his head answered. Robin frowned.

Starfire noticed his action and sighed. Was the living nightmare beginning? Had Robin gotten tired of her? Was this the beginning of the end for them? She feared it was. Starfire poured a little of the water from the kettle on a cup and held it with both hands. The ingredients of the remedy were at her room. Robin stood there, not knowing whether to stay or to leave. He did not even know what to talk about with her. Just yesterday, they had been in his room, laughing, having fun, being happy together. Today, yesterday seemed like a dream that had finally ended. Yesterday was gone, today was what mattered.

Starfire sighed. "Robin, how was your night?" Starfire asked, trying to make conversation between them.

"Crappy, this cold is getting the best of me."

Starfire stared at her cup and then at Robin. "I have the ingredients for the remedy in my room. Perhaps if you poured yourself hot water into a cup and journeyed back with me to my room, you can also make use of Tamarean traditional medicine and cure from your sickness."

Robin tensed and saw Starfire staring at him. What did she want him to do?

"_She wants me to take her to her room." _He did not feel like it now. He did not want to make the situation more compromising than it already was. "Robin? Did you listen to what I just said?" Starfire asked, walking towards him.

Robin took a step back and turned his face to the side. He did not know if Starfire wanted to kiss him but he was not going to allow her to try. Starfire froze. She understood the hidden meaning of the silence between them and flew away from the living room before Robin could have second thoughts. Robin heard the door close after she had left the room. However, the door opened again immediately. Robin thought Starfire has come back to talk to him but, unfortunately for him, it was Raven who walked in the room.

Raven gave Robin a cold look and Robin replied with a cold look of his own.

"What did you do to her?" Raven asked and crossed her arms.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Of course you do! She was crying."

Robin looked surprised. He had wanted to cover his insecurities about his feelings but he now knew he had failed miserably. Raven still waited for his answer.

"I didn't do anything. She just took some hot water for some medicine for the cold and left."

Raven's eyes closed and sneezed. She pulled a handkerchief from her belt and blew her nose loudly. Robin's eye twitched. Raven sighed and blinked several times. "She's sick also? I could use some of that medicine too. Cyborg and Beast Boy are also sick. I guess all of us are."

Robin nodded and walked towards the door. He stopped next to Raven and gave her the box of tissues on his way out. She held it and without looking back, he spoke to him.

"I can sense your feelings toward Starfire have changed. They are not clear anymore. I told you, you were gonna hurt her. I told you to stay away from her."

Robin's hands turned into fists and felt the anger rising to his face rather quickly. "You don't know what I feel. You are not me. Stay away from my mind Raven." Robin said and disappeared behind the door. He walked to his room and locked the door once inside it. He did not have to listen to her. Raven did not know what she was talking about, right?

Robin returned to his bed and got himself under the blanket. He thought about Starfire's attitude. She seemed uncomfortable around him. Was she having doubts about them being together? Maybe the feelings of uncertainty that Raven felt belonged to Starfire and not Robin.

"_What am I going to do?"_

Robin heard BB and Cyborg complaining about how it sucked to be sick with the flu. Robin knew how they felt. Maybe he should tell them about Starfire's remedy. He tried to stand up but he felt dizzy and went back to bed.

"Or maybe I should just stay here until someone notices that I am absent and comes to my rescue." Robin cursed about his sickness and went back to sleep.

In another room at the Tower, Starfire was getting ready to drink her Tamarean medicine. She had enough time to drink it, wait the 2 hours it took for it to work and then leave. She had an appointment with Dr. Jones today and it seemed that she would be going alone. Luckily for her, she remembered how to get there and since Robin did not seem to want to be around her, she would go by herself. She could have asked any of the Titans to go with her but she did not want to get them more involved in her problems.

"_Perhaps I should solve my problems on my own."_

Starfire drank the remedy and headed to her bed. Even though the medicine did a wonderful job curing the common cold, the drawbacks of the remedy were that to cure the cold, an increase of the effects of the cold were felt for at most 2 hours until the illness was gone. This meant that Starfire would be sneezing, coughing, sweating, constantly blowing her nose, getting dizzy and feeling tired for that amount of time. She would have preferred to spend this awful time with Robin but she knew he was not himself today and that it probably was her fault.

"_Slade was right; I am becoming a burden to Robin."_

Starfire blocked the images about that dreadful night in the Tower with Slade. She had lied to the Titans about not remembering anything that had happened. She knew Robin would have questioned her like crazy about it. She believed he was already tired of her lunatic state, why give him another reason to think she is paranoid? There was no evidence to prove that someone else had been there with her that night. The Titans would never believe her that Slade, who was presumed dead, had been there with her. They would never believe that Slade's ghost haunted her nights and had almost pushed her to ending her life.

Starfire began feeling the effects of the medicine. She was going to deal with the consequences of the medicine on her own. She had already asked too much from her friends. She did not have the courage to ask for more. Starfire pulled the blankets up until they covered her head and prepared to spend the next couple of hours alone.

Raven walked to her room, cup of herbal tea on one hand, and after she got inside, she lay on her bed and slowly drank her tea. She remembered Robin mentioning something about Starfire having a cure for the cold. If she saw some improvement in Starfire's condition she might consider giving it a try. She did not doubt Starfire's remedy would very much improve her condition but it was the taste she was afraid of. Tamareans had a special taste in food; a special taste that Raven did not find of her liking.

Raven then wondered what had happened between Robin and Starfire. Starfire had ran pass her so quickly that she had only been able to sense the feeling of sadness that surrounded her. Robin had also been surrounded by feelings of uncertainty and guilt but she could not figure out exactly what had occurred between them. Perhaps Starfire would come to Raven anytime soon and cry while she explained what had happened in the kitchen between the couple. That was if they were _still_ a couple.

Raven's head began to hurt. She decided to sleep some more to be able to somewhat ignore her horrible state of health. Good thing she did not have to leave the Tower for anything important.

"_I only wish we don't have a mission today"_

BB and Cyborg lay on the main room's couch, both covered by their own blankets. The trashcan between them almost full with used tissues, the box of tissues almost empty. Both Titans groaned and complained about how awful they felt and how Raven had ditched them in their idea to take over the living room to be closer to the food.

"If you are close the food and sneeze on it you will contaminate it and we will have to buy groceries all over again." Raven had told them. BB and Cyborg ignored her response and had decided to stay near the food.

"It's time like these I actually hate being half-human." Cyborg said while blowing his nose. "See the bright side, dude. At least you don't turn into a different animal every time you…" BB sneezed and turned into a gorilla, then a rhino, then a snake, then a porcupine, then a dog, then a mouse and finally back to himself. "…sneeze."

An hour passed and Raven appeared on the door of the living room. She flew over to the couch, blanket in hand and snuggled between BB and Cyborg. Both Titans raised an eyebrow. "Raven, are you feeling ok? I thought you didn't want to be with us," BB asked while poking her. "I felt…lonely. I-I-I mean… this cold is getting the best of me. Don't listen to what I say right now. I am ill and have no idea what I am saying." Raven said and closed her eyes.

Cyborg smiled at BB and they both nodded their heads. They understood that when someone is sick, he or she tends to feel the need to be around people who care for this person. Everyone likes to feel taken care of when one is sick. They knew Raven was no exception to the rule. Usually, parents would be the ones to take care of their sick children. Yet, the Titans knew that none of them had parents who would take care of them. They knew the Titans were their only family and they had to look for one another and after themselves. Good thing the couch was big enough to fit them all at the same time.

Cyborg reached for the remote and turned the TV on. Both BB and Cyborg faced the TV and Raven decided to only listen to what her friends had decided to watch. Their company was enough for her.

Robin struggled, in his own way, with the sickness in his room. Even though the Tower was not empty and his friends and _girlfriend_ also suffered from the same illness, he felt more alone in the world than he had ever felt before. He felt as if he had no one in the world to care for him. He had no idea where or how his friends were dealing with the cold and he did not feel like asking for Starfire's care. He did not even believe she would be willing to take care of him after what happened yesterday. Again, misunderstandings surrounded the young couple and lack of communication was building a barrier between them: a barrier that, this time, would be more difficult to break. Robin finally gave up and went to the living room for water, only to find Raven, BB and Cyborg at the couch. He reluctantly joined them after he had gone back to his room to grab his blanket and pillow. They were not Starfire but they would have to do for now.

111111111111111111

After the couple of hours that had passed, Starfire opened her eyes. The sore throat was gone. The nose was _properly functioning_ once more. Her cold sweat had disappeared. Her good health was back.

"_Thank X'hal for this ancient remedy."_

Starfire flew from her bed and headed for her closet. She wanted to take a shower before she headed for Dr. J's office. She had many things to talk to him about as she had come to a decision of what to do to solve her problems_; everyone's_ problems. She grabbed her clothes and flew to the bathroom, stopping at the corners to make sure no one saw her.

After a few minutes had passed, Starfire headed to her room to blow dry her hair up and get ready to leave the Tower. Even though she had the cure for the cold, she did not want to risk it again. This time she would take the necessary precautions to not get caught up in a storm in the middle of the winter with no protection above her head. It only took her a few minutes to get ready and she was good to go. Starfire looked at herself in the mirror. She had not noticed that she was marked from her fight with Slade. She had been able to cover the other marks with her winter clothes but the marks on her face had not been entirely covered with her makeup. Besides, she had the _crunket_ on. She could at least blame a fight for the _crunket's_ existence.

"I cannot show myself to the doctor in this condition and by myself. He may think something bad about my friends." Starfire said to herself only to be responded by her haunting voice.

"_What friends? You don't have any friends? I don't see them here with you"_

"_They are sick. They cannot attend with me to my appointment"_

_"How about Robin? Can he get over himself and accompany his girlfriend to the doctor? He promised didn't he?"_ The voice replied. Starfire's eyes began to fill with tears. Slade was right. Robin had promised to go with her to every session. He had been the one with the idea of taking her to a psychologist. This was her second session and he would not be able to attend.

"_Poor, naïve girl! He broke his promise. What other promises will he break? He also promised to be with you forever and I am sure you noticed he is having second thoughts about that as well!"_

Starfire gathered strength to answer Slade. She knew he was somewhat right but she did not want to accept it. She did not want to accept that Robin was forgetting about her_. "Robin always keeps his promises. I need only to remind him of today's date and…"_ Starfire began before being interrupted by Slade's voice.

"_And what? This is Robin we are talking about! Do you truly believe the fearless leader of the Titans would just forget today's date? If you were as important to him as you foolishly believe you are he would have not forgotten about you! He would have not turned his back on you this morning! He would still _**love**_ you now!"_

"Shut up!" said Starfire, while she closed her eyes finally releasing the tears. She knew how important dates and time were to Robin, especially when it came to her. However, this time he had not bothered to mention anything about wanting to go with her. In fact, he had acted strangely around her and had wanted to leave her side as soon as possible. She had not said anything to anyone but she had been able to feel the rejection coming from him this morning.

"Robin does love me! He cares for me very much and he would never stop being my friend!"

Slade chuckled. _"Silly girl. Believe what you want but when Robin gets tired of you to the point he dumps you, please oh, please, come back crawling back to me. I will make your suffering stop quite fast."_

Starfire's face denoted her anger and fear. She was angry at Slade's words and fearful that they would become a reality. Yet, Starfire's heart was still strong and she believed, or wanted to believe, that Slade was wrong. Robin could not stop loving her. He just could not. _"I cannot come up with conclusions on one simple event. I am sure Robin did not want me to get even sicker. He is just trying to protect me; that is all."_

_"Is that what you think? Why don't you go ask him if he wants to go with you? See his reaction. Listen to what he has to say about it. I dare you to ask him and prove me wrong."_ Slade said, with a tone of pity that Starfire had not heard being used on her since Blackfire had gotten on her case in her last visit to Tamaran.

"I shall prove you wrong, Slade. Robin will attend with me to my appointment." Starfire said and flew to her door. She stopped for a second making a quick check list in her mind to make sure she did not forget anything. She returned to her bed to grab her coat and immediately made her way outside her room and headed for the living room. She was able to listen to her friends' voice from a few feet away from the door. She heard BB and Robin arguing about the channel they wanted to watch and Raven and Cyborg shutting them up.

"Dude, this medicine is crud! I still can't breathe through my nose!"

"Robin said Starfire had some Tamarean remedy to cure this stupid cold"

Cyborg and BB turned their faces to Robin. Robin made a "what did I do?" face.

"Man, you suck! Why the heck didn't ya tell us Star could've helped us? We're dieing here!"

"You never asked! Besides, I don't want to bother Starfire with trivial things like that"

"Bother her? Like, are you kidding me? She would love to help us! You just want her for yourself don't you? You selfish, jealous…"

"WOW, there! I don't want her for myself! I just don't think it's…" Robin sighed. "It's not the best time, ok?" Cyborg and BB gave him a confused look. Robin did not want to go into further detail. It was not of their business, he believed.

"Did you guys have a fight…again?" Cyborg asked. Robin tensed. Technically, they had not had a fight but he did not feel like asking her for a favor…or anything for that matter. Besides, they did not need him to ask Starfire for the medicine. They could do it themselves.

"I just don't think you guys would want to drink it. You know none of us are fond of Starfire's cooking" Robin answered, trying to switch the subject. Outside the room, Starfire waited for the perfect moment to ask him for company but the more her friends talked, the least secure she felt to ask any of them for help; especially Robin.

"Now you are just making up excuses, man! Why don't you just accept you screwed up something with her! You made her mad at ya didn't you?" Cyborg asked, while poking Robin's ribs. Robin's big vein on his forehead had begun to pop up. BB held his breath. He knew whatever was coming was not going to be pretty at all.

"So, what now Robin? Cat got your tongue?"

"It's none of your business, Cyborg. Don't push it."

"Oh, I'll push it alright! Don't ya think it's time for you to stop acting like a baby and feel for the girl? She maybe loosing it a li'l bit but she ain't stupid!"

"I didn't do anything."

"Well, I don't believe ya."

"That is not my problem now, is it?"

"To hell it ain't! Aren't ya supposed to be her boyfriend? You are lousy one, by the way. Whatever it is that you did ya better get yo _ass_ back there and apologize to her! I ain't letting you hurt little lady. She deserves someone better than you and the least ya can do is treat her right"

"Then why doesn't _she_ look for someone better than me? It would make _my_ life so much easier!"

Cyborg and BB gaped and their eyes bugged open. Raven lifted herself up a little just above the couch to watch Robin's face. None of them believed what he had just said. None of them said anything for a while. They all just looked at Robin with a face of surprise Robin had not seen on them for a long time now. Starfire also gasped in disbelief behind the doors. Her hand covered her open mouth and her eyes did not seem to blink. It took her a few seconds to regain herself from the shock of Robin's words. It took all of them a few seconds to take in Robin's words.

"Just leave me alone." Robin said and began walking towards the door. Starfire realized he was walking towards her and rapidly flew to the nearest window and got outside the Tower. Cyborg, Raven and BB still stood there, shocked at Robin's answer. It took them a few more seconds to feel anger towards Robin and pity towards Starfire.

_"So this is why she was feeling sad and he was feeling guilty! He…he doesn't love her anymore."_ Raven thought while going back to her spot on the couch. The other two Titans also returned to their places at the couch. They sat there looking at nothing in particular, thinking about how this new situation changed their already messed up lives.

"Who…Who's gonna tell her?" BB asked, looking at Cyborg but it was Raven who answered. "He has to…if she hasn't it figured it out yet" Raven shock her head in disapproval and closed her eyes again. BB and Cyborg returned their eyes to the TV even though they were not paying complete attention to it. Their minds were thinking about the new situation they had just acknowledged.

"_Hell's gonna break loose here at the Tower…soon" Cyborg thought_

Robin arrived at his room and lay on his bed again. He had no interest in talking to any of the Titans, Starfire included. He just wished to be left alone and think. He needed to come up with something to make everything less painful, for all.

1111111111111

Starfire _walked _–floated,towards the clinic. After she had spotted the place from the skies, she had decided to walk to her destination. It was still snowing and the cold breeze was becoming colder by the minute. Even though the weather was horrible, she did not have time to even worry about it. She had more important things to think about: Robin.

She wanted to know how to interpret his words back at the Tower. Besides the obvious interpretation of Robin not wanting anything to do with her anymore, she desperately looked for another explanation for his reaction. She thought and thought about it but his answer and his attitude yesterday and today in the kitchen all added up to him not having feelings for her. Her heart screamed that this conclusion could not be true, making her mind remember about his attitude yesterday morning when he built the _crunket_ for her. However, her mind brought bad memories as well, like the fight at the roof on New Year's Eve. It was all too confusing for her. She needed some answers; she needed a new point of view. She needed to talk to someone and the only person she could think about now was Dr. J.

Starfire stopped at a corner and saw the entrance to the hospital. She had finally arrived. She sighed and after drying her tears, she headed for the entrance. As opposed to the first time she was here, she now knew where to go and how to get there, and she wanted to get to his office fast. Starfire got inside the elevator and avoided the inquiring eyes of the people surrounding her. She flew to the back of the elevator and stood at a corner. People still whispered things and pointed at her and then at their own faces, talking about her bruises. She had completely forgotten about her state. Starfire closed her eyes to avoid the stares and hugged herself as to protect herself from the outside.

"_How I wish Robin was here."_

Starfire bumped into someone and she opened her eyes to apologize. She did not expect what she saw. Slade was next to her, arms crossed and with these eyes full of pity looking down at her. She gasped.

"_Surprised to see me here? Don't do anything stupid, nobody else can see me but you"_

"_Why, how…what do you want?"_

"_What? You have already forgotten that you were going to prove me wrong about Robin? Where is he? I don't see him here! Is he…parking the R-Cycle?"_

Starfire heard Slade's chuckle at the end of his sentence. She had being wrong and she knew Slade would not miss the opportunity to rub it on her face.

"_He was too sick. I did not have the heart to bother him"_

"_Liar! I heard the conversation, he hates you!"_

"_He does not hate me! And how do I know you were not the one who made him say those horrible things?"_

"_Oh, dear child! I don't have to make Robin do anything. Everything he said back there was straight from him. I would have never thought of making him yell straight out to your puny friends that he doesn't want you anymore. That was better than any of the plans I could have thought about to separate you two. This was his doing, not mine."_

Starfire was glad to hear the bell to Dr. J's floor. She pushed people to get out of the elevator. She stopped a couple of feet away from the elevator door and turned back to see Slade still inside it. She exhaled and continued her journey his office. Luckily for her, Dr. J was talking to his secretary. Dr. J's secretary saw Starfire and she gaped at her state. Jones turned back and saw Starfire. He frowned.

"Starfire…you are…early? Is…everything ok?" The doctor asked, obviously referring to the fact that she was hurt, scared and ALONE.

"I wish to speak with you now. Is it possible, Doctor?"

"Of course, Starfire. Follow me to my office." Starfire nodded and allowed Jones to grab her shoulder and guide her to his office. Jones made a sign to his secretary to not transfer any calls. He had a gut feeling that whatever Starfire had to tell him, it was not good and it was going to take long. Starfire walked inside his office and he offered her a seat. He closed the door behind him and as Starfire turned to face him, she saw Slade standing next to the door. She gasped and Slade smirked.

"_Did you think I was going to let you come here alone? This will be a treat."_

Jones walked to Starfire and sat next to her. Starfire looked at Slade with horror and Jones directed his gaze at the empty spot where Slade stood. Slade was right, Jones was not able to see him but Starfire could.

"Starfire? What is going on?"

Starfire closed her eyes and tears began falling down her cheeks. Jones stretched his arm and grabbed a tissue from a box on his desk. Starfire grabbed it and after thanking him she began crying even harder.

"Gosh, Starfire! You are scaring me! Are you hurt somewhere I can't see? What's with the cast? And how did you get those bruises on your face? What happened to you? Tell me please"

Starfire tried to answer but the feelings of sadness, fear and guilt were overwhelming. She began sobbing and Jones offered her more tissues. Starfire accepted them and without even thinking, she hugged Jones. He was surprised by her action but quickly recovered, putting his arms around her.

"Let it all go, Star. Take your time; I _won't_ leave you alone, ok?"

Starfire nodded and allowed to cry herself to sleep on Jones arms. He stroked her hair and never let go of her, even after he felt her limp on his arms. He checked for a pulse and felt she was calming down. He positioned Starfire so that she was comfortable enough to sleep but still in his arms. He used the tissues to clean her damp face and waited for her to wake up.

"_Who did this to you, Starfire? I swear I'll protect you. If the Titans…if Robin can't or won't…I will"_

111111111111111

Starfire felt someone's arms around her. For a second, she was not able to recall the events of the last couple of hours. She slowly opened her eyes and smelled the scent of the expensive perfume. One of her hands was resting on someone's chest while the other was holding the other person's hand. Even though her eyes were still focusing, she knew this person was not Robin. She knew Robin's scent and she knew his touch as the palm of her hand.

"Starfire, are you feeling better?"

Starfire blinked several times to focus her vision and saw the handsome man holding her so securely. She had not felt this secure in the last couple of days. She never thought she could feel this protected in an embrace that did not belong to Robin. She now knew she was wrong. Starfire then remembered that an unwanted visitor had also come to see the doctor. She turned her face to the door and saw Slade, now sitting on the floor.

"Starfire, can you hear me?"

Starfire returned her eyes to meet the doctor's. How much time had she been sleeping? She had no idea but somehow it did not matter to her now. She had no one to go back to anyway, no one that cared.

"I apologize, doctor; I am having trouble paying attention."

Jones smiled. "I call you Star, you call me Rob, ok?" Starfire took a couple of seconds to understand what he had said and then nodded. How ironic was it that Cyborg also used this nickname with Robin.

"_Robin"_

Starfire realized that Jones was the man whom she was holding. She blushed and immediately moved herself away from the doctor's embrace. The doctor chuckled.

"I am so sorry I have invaded your space like this. Please forgive me, Rob"

"Don't worry, Star. It is…part of my job"

Starfire nodded and looked down at the floor. Jones's face got serious and bent his head, trying to find Starfire's face.

"So, can you now tell me how can I help you?"

Starfire bit her lip. She had no idea how to start telling him everything that had happened. Jones put his arm around her shoulders and lifted carefully her face by her chin.

"You can tell me anything, Star. That's why I am here for and this is why you came to me, right?"

"I do not know how to begin."

"How about you start by telling how your festivities were? I spent my holidays at my parents' house. I had a blast"

Starfire chuckled at the way Jones had said the last part. She recognized he was being sarcastic.

"We invited the Titans of the East to our Tower. We had a good time"

"Just a good time? You guys are superheroes! I'm pretty sure you did awesome stuff to kill time for the New Year"

Starfire faked a smile that disappeared rather fast.

"Something went wrong, right? Something between Robin and you."

"How do you know?"

"I am a doctor…you know…and the fact that he is not here with you has a lot to say."

Starfire turned to face the doctor. She sat sideways to not be able to see Slade, who was still on the floor. Jones also changed position so he would be able to face her as well.

"We…we had an argument…I though we had fixed it and it really seemed like we had but something has happened that states otherwise."

"Did you guys break up?"

"No…not yet"

"What do you mean not yet? Are you thinking about it?"

"Not me"

"Oh!"

Starfire sighed. Jones's face became stern. He was having the most horrible thoughts about Robin.

"Was he the one who physically hurt you?"

"No!" Starfire answered immediately. Jones did not seem convinced and Starfire knew it.

"You wouldn't be trying to protect him, right? The superhero status does not allow him doing things like this"

"He did not do this to me"

"Then who did it?"

Starfire looked at the door again. Slade waved his hand and then pointed at the doctor. He knew Starfire was thinking about an excuse to not sound crazy by saying that a ghost had kicked her ass while the rest of the Titans had gone out on a mission.

"Who are you looking at, Starfire?"

Starfire switched her eyes back to the floor. She could not think of something to say. She was tired of lying. She had to tell someone the truth.

"I am looking at Slade"

"Slade?" the doctor asked and looked at the same spot Starfire had been staring at since she arrived. For him, the spot was empty.

"Is Slade one of the persons you are the only one able to see?" the doctor asked still looking at the empty spot, trying his best to see what Starfire claimed to see. "Robin can see him too…but he will not admit it" Starfire answered as the doctor returned to face her.

"Is he the one who did this to you?" the doctor asked, still alternating glazes between Starfire and the door.

"Yes."

"Would you care on telling me how?"

Starfire did not like the idea of telling him how he had hurt her. It was painful for her to remember everything that Slade did and told her. Yet, all this pain was eating her inside. It was now or never. She had to tell someone and the doctor seemed concerned enough to listen to what she had to say.

"It is a long and crazy story"

"Look, Starfire. I am not going to judge you or anything but I need to know EVERYTHING so I can an explanation to what has happened to you. I only want to help and I will do anything to make you feel better. Just tell me everything. I promise I will believe you, you have no reason to lie to me."

"Do you promise not to laugh?"

"I swear I won't even smirk. This is serious, Star. You can trust me."

Starfire nodded and took her time to explain everything to Jones. She told him about the argument she and Robin had at the roof. She told him about Robin not showing up to the countdown. She also told him about how Raven had tried to help her by meditating with her. She mentioned how the Titans blamed Robin about her illness and how he had reacted to everything throughout the days. Jones nodded and sometimes interrupted her to ask her specific questions. Starfire talked and talked about everything that had occurred in the days after she had come to her first appointment. She told him about the small tribute to Red X and how the Titans were all sick now and how she had gotten better.

Starfire also went into specific details about how Slade had hurt her and almost completely destroyed the Tower. She explained her crunket and what had happened yesterday at the supermarket, today in the morning at the kitchen and a couple of hours ago in the living room. Jones listened attentively to her and after she had finished explaining, he took a moment to analyze everything that he had heard. He was upset at everything that had happened to her in so little time.

"You do not believe me, do you?"

"I do believe you. So, none of the Titans know you remember the incident with Slade?"

"No. I do not wish to be interrogated by them about it."

"Do you have cameras in the Tower? Did any of them record anything?"

"I-I destroyed them."

"Why?"

"Because…because Slade does not show up in these videos. You can only see me doing the destruction."

"Well, that's normal, if you want to call it like that. Slade is part of your mind, and Robin's apparently, yet I cannot explain how a vision was able to hurt you so much."

"I tried to prevent him from hurting me. I tried to convince myself he was not real but the cast is very real."

"I see."

Starfire closed her eyes and rested her back on the couch. She was tired. Jones stood up and reached for some cabinets. He opened the door and got a bottle of water out of it. He opened it and handed it to Starfire. She accepted it and drank half of it almost immediately.

"Sorry I didn't offer it sooner. I was overwhelmed by all the information you gave me."

"It is alright."

Jones sat next to her again and sighed. There was so much to explain to her and so much to be done. However, he could only offer as much help as she was willing to accept.

"Look, Star. First of all, that episode at the Tower with Slade is not normal. Visions are not supposed to be able to harm you in any way. Not that having visions is normal but this is getting out of hand."

"I understand. This is why I have come up with a decision to solve this problem. I know what I must do; I just need to find the courage to do it."

Jones recalled the option Slade had given to her. He feared he wanted to take away her life. He would not allow her to do so. She meant too much to him to allow it.

"Starfire, I am not going to let you do…bad…things to yourself. I care about you too much to let you harm yourself!"

Starfire looked at Jones. He was so seriously concerned about her. It took Starfire a couple of seconds before she could understand what the doctor meant. She shocked her head in disapproval.

"Rob! I do not mean to end my life. This would not solve anyone's problems"

Jones sighed. Starfire then realized that the doctor had said that he cared about her…too much. She blushed.

"I-I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable…it's just that you are so…incredible and it is difficult not to…like you…"

Starfire smiled at his nervousness. She wished Robin would still act like this around her. She wished Robin still felt something for her.

_"Then why doesn't she look for someone better than me?"_ Starfire remembered while she looked at Jones. He grabbed her hand in between his and looked at her green eyes. She knew she had to make sure he understood she only had feelings for Robin and no one else…a least for now.

"What are you planning to do, then?"

"You promise you will not tell Robin before I do?"

"I promise."

"This decision was not easy."

"What made you finally decide it was time to do what you have in mind?"

"His last statement today at the Tower"

Jones nodded and Starfire began telling him what she planned to do as Robin's words of _"It would make my life so much easier!" _echoed in her head

11111111111

Starfire returned to the Tower a couple of minutes after midnight. She had explained Jones all the alternatives she had, the ones she had already tried and the ones she had discarded. She was tired and wished to go to bed right away. She got on the elevator to get to the main room, feeling the machine was slower than usual. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep right there on the elevator.

"_Rob was so nice with me."_

Starfire smiled when she remembered all the nice things the doctor had told her. If she had known she had someone to listen to her without judging her, she would have told him everything a long time ago. The elevator finally arrived to the main room and its door opened. She slowly flew out if it, trying to adjust her eyes to the pitch black room. She had to be very careful not to wake anyone up or not to hit herself on her already injured body.

"Where were you?" Robin asked in an angry tone from the couch. Starfire gasped and stopped her flight. She had intent on having _"the talk"_ with Robin yet. She wanted to have some rest first.

"I was downtown"

"_This_ late? _What_ where you doing?"

Starfire bit her lip. She could tell him she had gone to the appointment he had made for her and then had forgotten to attend. Yet, it was midnight and the appointment should have not lasted more than 4 hours; even if it had.

"I was at my appointment."

"What appointment?"

"The appointment with my_ psychologist_," Starfire answered and she could have sworn she heard Robin flinch. "I did not think any of you would have wanted to leave the Tower in your current health conditions."

"You could have at least told me you were going."

"I figured you would have remembered or at least notice I was gone."

Robin scoffed. He had waited for Starfire to notice _his_ absence and search for _him_ instead of the other way around.

How do you know the rest of the Titans are sick?" Robin asked, fearing she had heard their conversation in the living room, especially his words. Starfire read his mind and smiled innocently.

"Raven told me when I left the kitchen this morning" she lied. Robin sighed in relief. "I see…and by this morning you mean **_yesterday_**, right?" Robin said with a sarcastic tone.

"Whatever. I wish to rest as I had a long and tiresome day. Good night, Robin"

Starfire began flying to the door. Robin opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. What can he possibly tell her? He had forgotten to take her to the doctor and when he had remembered he had been too lazy and irresponsible to look for her. He had nothing on her and he did not like the feeling. He heard the door shut close and he kicked the couch.

"Shit!"

He waited a few minutes before leaving to his room, giving Starfire enough time to get away from his path. Starfire arrived to her room and fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow. Slade stood in front of her, willing to allowing her to rest tonight as he had other plans tonight. He would give her a rest tonight as things would start to get worse tomorrow, much, much worse. Robin arrived at his room and tried to sleep, only to be kept awake by his illness and nightmares.

11111111111111

Morning came and the Titans had gathered on the main room. BB, Cyborg and Raven all lay on the couch, waiting for Starfire to give them the remedy. She had woken them up rather early, promising to offer a way to heal them. They had accepted after recalling the horrible two nights that had had by now. The kettle whistled and Starfire attended to it immediately. She poured the hot water on three cups and mixed the content of the alien herbs in them.

"Is it ready, li'l lady?"

"One more minute, please"

Starfire mixed the herbs until they had blended in with the water. She grabbed a tray and placed the three cups on it and flew towards her friends. They looked miserable.

"Friends, drink this remedy from my planet. You will have to wait 2 hours to feel your health regained but I assure you it will work."

BB grabbed the cup and smelled it. He belched and took a sip. Cyborg smelled it and gagged.

"Starfire, this smells like feet!" Cyborg said while stretching the arm that was holding the cup. "It tastes like them too!" BB said while gagging on the small sip he had taken.

"Stop acting like babies and drink it!" Raven ordered but did not do any effort on drinking the tea herself.

"Perhaps if you covered your nasal passages and drank it all at once it might help."

The Titans looked at each other and nodded. Cyborg held Raven's nose. BB covered Cyborg's nose and Raven covered BB's nose. Without second thoughts, the Titans drank the entire content of the cup and could not help to stick their tongues out in disgust.

"This better work, Starfire." Raven said, faking a menacing tone. "It shall work my friend. Now rest as I will take care of you while you heal." Starfire said, covering the Titans with their covers.

"Thanks Star. You rock!" BB said while hugging her. Starfire scratched his head and he purred. Soon enough, the Titans fell asleep and Starfire fell asleep along with them. Suddenly, the doors of the main room opened to reveal a very tired Robin. He had dark circles under his eyes and an almost empty box of tissues.

He saw the Titans asleep on the couch and saw that Starfire was there with them. He felt jealous that she was taking care of them and not him, but he could not ask anything from her, hot after he had allowed her to go alone to the doctor's appointment. Not after he had admitted he thought he was better off without her, even if she had not heard him say it. At least he wished she had not heard him as he was beginning to have second thoughts about this.

He looked at the kitchen counter and saw the small package of herbal tea and the cup. He figured she had prepared them the remedy. He walked towards it and prepared it himself as quickly as he could without making any noise to not wake any of them up. He did not have the courage to ask her for help or to stay with them. He took the remedy to his room and drank it there. Robin closed his eyes and slept during the healing process and wished, that for just one second, Starfire were there with him to keep him company. He missed her very much but could not get over himself to accept it. Not to her, not to himself.

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	9. Unexpected

**A/N: **Don't own the Titans. Dr J is mine, though. Make sure you read the next chapter right after finishing this one! Two chapters for my dear readers!

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**Chapter 8**

Unexpected

The last _decent_ conversation Robin and Starfire had was a long time ago, three months to be exact. The still-a-couple had been able to avoid each other, always trying to evade the situation with their friends and trying to hide the distance between them in front of them. However, the Titans knew things were not the same between Robin and Starfire, especially Raven. The empathic member of the Titans was able to sense the emotions of insecurity and guilt that poured down from her friends. She could read them like open books and did not like what she had seen. Something needed to be done before the last drops of love that still existed between them dissipated forever. Someone had to do something, now! _"What to do? What to do?"_ Raven thought, trying to find a quick answer to her dilemma.

As part of their daily routine, Cyborg and BB were playing video games at the main room. Robin and Starfire were nowhere to be seen but Raven knew they were not together. For the last months, Robin had spent an awful lot of time in the training room or the evidence room. He claimed he was busy trying to figure out who the new enemy was and seldom left the confines of his room. He always locked the door and only left his room to shower or grab a bite to eat.

Starfire's behavior was not different from Robin's. She would stay in her room, locked up all day everyday. Robin and Starfire had grown a habit of not eating with the rest of team but at their rooms at their own time. Robin and Starfire were not to be seen in the same room for more than the time it took for one of them to leave the premises.

When a mission came about, Robin would be the first one to be at the garage on his R-Cycle, waiting for the rest of the team to show up. Starfire did not even bother leaving her room. She had stopped watching the sunsets and sunrises and Robin did not go to the roof early in the morning anymore. Starfire had stopped being her cherry self and was never seen out of her pajamas. Sometimes, she would not even leave her room for days, one time an entire week. Robin did not hang out with BB and Cyborg anymore. He would not try to beat Cyborg's high score. He would not try to punish them for not shutting up. He practically did not care if Raven sent BB to the underworld.

Starfire had ceased her hair-braiding, toe-nail painting, and her visits to the "mall of shopping." She had started to meditate on her own several weeks after she got the hang of it but had not been able to meditate much as Slade would not leave her mind. Raven recalled watching Starfire walk aimlessly outside the Tower. Raven had gotten up at about 2 in the morning to get a glass of water. She heard the elevator door close and followed whomever she had heard. Once she was downstairs outside the Tower, she saw Starfire walking barefoot on the edge of the Tower's island.

Starfire was wearing a long night-gown and had no make-up on. She looked like a lonely ghost who is not able to comprehend that she had died. Her steps were slow and cautious, as if fearing that the ground would suddenly crack open and have her for lunch. Raven had stayed near Starfire until she had returned to her room. Raven never knew what Starfire was doing outside but she knew that the both of them were not alone, as Robin had been hiding behind the rocks, keeping a close watch on her.

_"He still cares about her,"_ Raven had thought. Raven also recalled watching Starfire take care of Robin without him noticing. One night after they had gone back home from a mission, Robin had fallen asleep on the main room's couch. It had been a long and difficult fight, especially without Starfire's aid. He had tried to hide his injuries but Raven could feel his pain. She had stayed close by to check on him and help him in case he needed assistance but, at the end, she was not required. A couple of hours after the pain had put Robin to sleep Starfire had appeared in the main room, first aid kit in hand.

She had spent the next hour curing Robin's injuries until she made sure he was ok. Starfire then left as quiet as she had arrived and when Robin woke up, he had the strange feeling that he had not been the one to cure his own injuries. He asked BB, Raven and Cyborg but none of them took "responsibility" of helping him during the night. Raven knew he knew Starfire had been the one to help him but he would not admit it. Raven did not understand at the beginning what was truly happening between them until she started to take special notice of their actions and realized they were not together anymore.

A few days after Starfire had secretly cured Robin's injuries, Raven dared to ask the dreaded question to Robin. He had been fixing his R-Cycle that had gotten damaged in the last mission when Raven approached him.

"_Robin, are you and Starfire still a couple?"_

_Robin had frozen at Raven's question but quickly recovered to try to hide his pain. He grabbed a random tool and began walking to the elevator, supposedly to find a new one that would work. He stopped before entering the elevator and answered Raven's question._

"_We haven't broken up if that's what you mean."_

And with this, Robin was gone. It was then that Raven knew she had to do something as she felt guilty of what was happening between them. She knew Raven had overly emphasized her point about Robin hurting Starfire that he had decided to distant himself from her. Raven now knew she was wrong and felt the need to make it up to them. She just needed a plan, luck and the help of the other Titans to rebuild the relationship she had mistakenly torn apart.

While deep in thinking, Raven realized the importance of tomorrow's date and an idea formed in her mind. She knew what she had to and she was going to make sure it happened. However, she had to involve the others in her _malevolent_ _scheme t_o bring Robin and Starfire together again, even if that meant asking Cyborg and BB for help; help that they would surely want to get back in the form of playing "Stank Ball." It was a _risk_ she had to take. Bottom line was that there was no one else that could do something, it _had_ to be her.

_"It's not like Beast Boy and Cyborg were granted intelligence in this matter,"_ Raven thought. Raven quickly made her way to the main room and found BB and Cyborg in the middle of their daily routine. She approached them and stood between the TV and them; an action that BB did not find suitable. "Raven, we are kind of in the middle of a game, don't you have some books to read or something?" BB asked, annoyed by her presence between his game and him.

Raven's response was to use her powers to smack BB's face with the controller. Cyborg flinched.

"Is something the matter, Raven? I may be mistaken but…I think you want our attention," Cyborg said. Raven nodded and BB mumbled some unintelligible words to Raven for hitting him but soon after he paused the game and gave her as much attention as he could give. Raven eyed them suspiciously before she spoke.

"You guys have any idea what day is tomorrow?" Raven asked. BB, still annoyed by her attitude tapped his chin with his fingers, faking deep thinking and then used his hands to simulate the search of something important in his pockets. "Gee, Raven! I don't seem to have my 'Important Dates for Raven' calendar with me! I'm positive I left it in my other skin." Raven raised an eyebrow and before BB could react, he was thrown by a black aura to the wall beside Raven.

"Uhm, Raven. Are you feeling ok? You are hitting Beast Boy more than usual." Cyborg asked while looking at BB as he stood up and twirled on one foot before regaining balance. "You idiots! Tomorrow's Robin's birthday!"

Silence.

"SAY WHAT!" Cyborg screamed after standing from the couch. "Robin's gonna be so mad! Why didn't Starfire remind us?" Cyborg asked and looked at BB. BB answered Cyborg's question in his well-known know-it-all matter. "There is a logical explanation for this. _Obviously_, Starfire wants to spend sometime alone with Robin to enjoy each other…_if_ you know what I mean," BB said while poking Raven's ribs. Raven eyed him with a death stare and he decided to stand behind the protection of the couch.

"I figured you guys had no idea of what's really going on with Starfire and Robin. They are not talking to each other since the day Starfire had the incident in the Tower. I knew you guys were stupid but I never thought you were also blind." Cyborg and BB stared at each other and then at Raven. Suddenly, their faces denoted acknowledgement coming to them. Everything was now so clear.

"That's why Starfire asked me to remove the crunket with the excuse that she wanted to surprise Robin!" Cyborg said and downwardly smashed his closed hand to his open palm. "But what about Valentine's Day? Weren't they together on a date?" BB asked, scratching his head. "No, remember we had that mission that day and Robin took all the time in the world to defeat those burglars and then suggested to take them to jail and wait until he saw the guys behind bars? He was making time to not come back to the Tower while Starfire was still awake."

Cyborg and BB's mouth dropped. They could not believe what Raven was saying but it made sense; too much sense for that matter. "So, all this time they had being lying to each other. Do they…hate each other?" BB asked, feeling sad for his best friends. Raven shrugged. "The feelings that I perceive from them are a bunch of mixed emotions. What I do know is that they both want to be in each other's company but neither of them knows how to take the first step."

"Are you suggesting we take matters into our own hands? But that would be wrong! We shouldn't interfere in their lives and try to manipulate their feelings!" Cyborg said, crossing his arms. BB raised one hand, "I'm in!" Cyborg slapped his face with his hand before smiling and counting himself in as well. Raven nodded. "Do you have anything in mind, Raven?" BB asked interested in what the psychic had in mind. "As a matter of fact I do."

11111111111111

The next day, Robin was woken up by a jumping cat on his bed: a _green _jumping cat. "What the hell? Beast Boy get out of my bed, I am trying to sleep!" Robin said and used his blanket to throw BB out of his bed. BB landed gracefully on the floor and returned to his human form. "Get on your ass, Robin! Don't you know what day it is?" BB asked with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Uhm…the let _Robin_ _Sleep All Day_, day?"

BB shook his head and jumped on Robin's bed again. "No, dude! Today's your birthday!" Robin pulled the covers to the top of his head and grumbled. He did not feel like getting out of bed today for this exact same reason. BB kept jumping on Robin's bed. "Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up!" BB kept chanting. Robin felt his ears suffering at BB's incessant screaming. Robin did not care what today's date was. He just wanted to stay inside his room all day and do not be bothered by anyone. He prayed no bad guy would make his appearance today as he had no will to get out and fight anyone. "Beast Boy, are you drunk? Stoned? Deaf? I said I want to sleep! Who are you? The official birthday-waking-up boy?"

BB stopped jumping for a couple of seconds and seemed to give Robin's question some though. Finally he smiled and nodded before resuming jumping on Robin's bed. "You have to get up! Don't you want us to spend your birthday with you? We have plans already. You don't want Starfire to be disappointed, don't you?" Robin became still. Starfire's name always made him hold his breath and his heart skip a beat. Even now that they had not had much interaction with each other, Starfire's name or the mere recalling of her face made Robin let his guard down.

"Fine, I'll tell Starfire you don't want to be with her. I'm pretty sure _she'll_ understand." BB teased and slowly made his way to Robin's door. Robin cursed under his breath and threw the blanket to his side before jumping from bed and stopping BB by calling his name. "Don't tell her anything. I'll be at the living room in 30 minutes."

BB nodded and made his way outside Robin's room. Robin sighed and after locking his door he allowed his body to carelessly fall on his bed. He had been avoiding the topic for a long time now. He had to tell her and it had to be today. Robin sighed again and began preparing to leave with his friends to celebrate his birthday. It was already noon and he hopped they had lunch as the first thing in their list. He was starving.

On the other side of the Tower, Raven tried to convince Starfire to join the rest of them to celebrate Robin's birthday. Starfire had come up with all kinds of excuses and was quickly running out of them by now. _"Raven is awfully persistent. Has she not noticed that Robin cannot stand my presence?"_

"Look, Starfire, if you don't want to come that's fine but, I'm not gonna be the one to break it to Robin. He's gonna be so disappointed," Raven said. Raven saw Starfire's glow at the mention of Robin. _"Robin wants to be with me? He wants me again?"_ "I am sure he would not mind. He will understand that I am not feeling well."

Raven shrugged and turned back, making her way towards the door. _"Starfire can be so stubborn."_

"I guess you are right, even though he asked for you to go as a condition to leave the Tower. I'm positive he'll understand his girlfriend not being with him on his birthday." Raven had not wanted to resource to such pitiful ways but Starfire had left her no option. Raven heard Starfire gasped at the last part of her statement. _"That's it! She's coming with us."_

Starfire looked at the floor before telling Raven she would go. Raven nodded and told Starfire to meet the rest of them at the main room in 30 minutes. Starfire nodded and Raven left. "I look horrible," Starfire said while looking down at her weakened body, "Robin cannot see me in such demeaning condition." Starfire sighed and began getting ready to go out with the Titans. Just for today, she had to put aside her problems with Robin. _"Of all days, why did it have to be today?"_

The rest of the Titans arrived at the living room and were expecting Robin and Starfire to show up any minute. Raven was wearing gray casual pants and a black sleeveless blouse with black pointy boots. Even though it was April, Raven never grew tired of black and never looked bad in it. BB was wearing a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes, as well as a red t-shirt that read "Keep staring, I might do a trick." Cyborg did not need to dress up and did not feel like it, it was freaking hot outside. The Titans were waiting anxiously for their friends' arrival. Things were going smooth but they did not know what could happen when the couple stayed at the same room for more than a minute. Suddenly, Raven's plan did not seem so innocent anymore. _"What if they start arguing with each other? What if one doesn't show up? "What if…"_

Raven's thoughts were interrupted when the door slid opened and revealed Robin. He was wearing brown pants, brown shoes and a light blue untucked shirt. His always-present mask was also there. He walked into the main room and noticed that Starfire was not there yet. He felt nervous of her upcoming presence; he felt like in their first date.

_The night had turned cold and humid, not normal for a spring day. Driving around in his R-Cycle did not seem like a good idea after all. Robin felt like he had never felt before: a complete idiot. Tonight was Starfire and his first official date. He had been so nervous when asking her but he felt even worse now that they were in the actual date. _

_Robin had surely changed clothes at least 10 times and Starfire had gone through the same dilemma. They had gone out before but it had been as friends only. Giving this night the title "date" and giving themselves the title "couple" made things more difficult to them. They had both waited so long for this and even though they had kissed in the past and had spent time alone, a date seemed like the most difficult thing to do. _

_"I wonder if dating is the same in her planet." Robin thought. He had made sure that Starfire understood that dating was NOT what he and Kitten did. "No, Star. I won't ignore you or look annoyed when we go out. I hated the idea of going out on a date with Kitten but I love the idea of going out with you," Robin had assured Starfire who was freaking out at the idea of what an earth date was. "I'll make sure to show you how good a date can be," Robin had told her._

_Robin had told Starfire to wait for him in the living room. Once Starfire was ready, she did as told and waited on the couch for Robin to arrive. She was wearing a short sleeveless pink dress and white sandals. Her hair was in a ponytail and had made sure she used enough amount of make-up. "Not too little to look pale but not too much to look like a slut," Starfire remembered Raven telling her this. _

_With every second that passed, Starfire grew even more nervous to the point of doubting the idea of the date being a good one. Her thoughts were interrupted when the Tower's doorbell sounded. She walked to the elevator door and opened the doors to see someone inside it. He was wearing blue slacks, black shoes and a checked shirt with white background and blue and green lines. His eyes were covered by a black mask and his hands were occupied by a bouquet of red roses and a teddy bear. Starfire gasped at his presence._

_Robin was not able to speak either. He looked at her up and down. Her pink dress remarked her curves and her ponytail gave her a fresh and different look he had never seen before. "She's so beautiful," Robin thought. He realized Starfire was looking at him with a big question mark on her face and cleared his throat. "Robin, what are you doing out here?"_

_Robin smiled and walked closer to her. She eyed him strangely. "Usually, the guy comes to pick the girl up but since we live together I couldn't really do that so I decided to sneak outside the Tower and at least arrive for you at our door." Starfire smiled brightly. "Perhaps this idea was not so bad after all," Starfire thought._

_"May I come in?" Robin asked and Starfire nodded while allowing Robin to walk in. Robin looked at the main room as if he had never seen it before and smiled at Starfire. "Nice place you have here, Star. I bet the person who decided the structure of this place is very smart," Robin said, not being able to hold a chuckle that came after his remark. Starfire rolled her eyes and smiled as well. "Well, he is very smart but he is also very serious sometimes. I sometimes wonder if he thinks of anything that is not related to work."_

_Robin smirked, "I think the real question is how is he able to think of anything else when he has you around." Starfire blushed. Robin remembered what he had brought her and stood closer to her. "This…is for you. I hope you like it," Robin said while extending his arms to give Starfire the bouquet and the stuffed animal. Starfire grabbed the presents and smelled the roses. Robin scratched his head with a finger and slightly blushed. "This is very thoughtful of you Robin. Thank you. Hopefully my other boyfriend will not see it," Starfire joked and Robin gaped. _

_Starfire giggled and then placed a kiss on Robin's cheek. "I am joking, Robin. Let me put these roses in water and leave the teddy bear at the counter so we can leave." Robin smiled at slapped himself mentally at being caught off-guard so easily. After she had finished her task and had joined Robin to leave, the main door slipped opened and Cyborg appeared behind it. "Hey, you stop right there." _

_Both Robin and Starfire stopped and turned to face a serious looking Cyborg as he stood in front of them. He looked at Robin up and down and then crossed his arms. The couple's faces denoted their confusion at Cyborg's behavior. "So, what exactly are your intentions with my sister, young boy?" Robin slapped his forehead and Starfire giggled. "You find this amusing? This is not a joke, kid! You better not hurt my sister or I'll haunt your ass and kicked it big time."_

_Robin chuckled and cleared his throat before speaking. "Very funny, Cyborg. Can we leave now?" Robin asked. "Yo! I'm serious! Ya better bring her back safe and happy and before 10pm. This is a decent home!" Cyborg said in an exaggerated tone. Robin lifted his open hands up as a sign of innocence and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, sir. I will take care of your sister." Cyborg nodded and the couple made their way outside the Tower and to the garage to get on the R-Cycle. "You better take care of her Robin. Don't screw this up or I'll really haunt your ass down if you hurt little lady."_

_The rain had begun to fall on their way back o the Tower. Even though it had been a relatively good date, some things had not turned out the way Robin had wanted them to be. Firstly, their reservation at the fancy restaurant he had planned to take Starfire had been canceled without notice. They ended up eating at a coffee shop, much less private and classier than Robin had wanted. "I do not care where we eat Robin. The important thing is to be together," Starfire had told him. She knew she meant it but he could not help to feel responsible for making the mistake of not confirming the reservation. _

_Secondly, they had gone to watch a movie but everything they wanted to watch was sold-out so they ended up watching a children's movie. Starfire seemed to have enjoyed it but Robin again felt stupid for not buying the tickets before hand. "I can't believe I made such a careless mistake," Robin thought. Lastly, he had decided to take Starfire to the amusement park at the docks but as soon as they arrived, the weather punished them and it had begun to rain. "It's official; I suck as a date planner!" Robin told himself. _

_Starfire held Robin's waist tighter as they drove on the R-Cycle. They had waited for the rain to stop before deciding to go back home but it had begun to rain again halfway to their destination. Suddenly, Robin stopped his bike and turned back to face Starfire. "What if we wait under that bus stop, it has a roof. We can go back home after the rain stops again. I don't want you to get sick." Starfire nodded and as soon as Robin left his R-Cycle out of way of the bus stop spot, he claimed his seat next to Starfire at the bench. _

_They silently watched the rain pour down and recalled all the things that had happened to them tonight. Starfire noticed that Robin did not look so happy about the entire situation and felt that it somehow was her fault. She took his hand in hers and caught Robin's attention. "I apologize for all the trouble I have caused to you. I will understand if you do not wish to go on a date with me ever again." Robin blinked several times and shook his head. "Don't say that Star. I should have been more careful when planning this; I am the one afraid that you would not want to go out with me again."_

"_Do not be silly, Robin. I had a wonderful time."_

"_Don't lie"_

"_I am not"_

_It took them a couple of seconds to figure out the closeness between them. Robin looked at Starfire's lips that screamed for him to kiss them. He listened and began closing the already small gap within their faces. This until the bus rode over the water that had accumulated below the sidewalk and soaked them. The driver opened the door and did not even bother to ask them if they were going to board when he saw Robin's annoyed face. The driver closed back the door and left as fast as he could, causing the water to be splashed at them again. _

_Robin growled, kicked an invisible rock and crossed his arms. The water on his clothes made him feel even more stupid. "I can't believe what just happened." He then looked at Starfire who was also soaking wet and saw she was smiling at him. "Is she enjoying this!" he thought._

_"If I had a piece of dry cloth I would have offered it you Star but I am also soaked." Starfire shook her head. "It is ok. I find this rather hilarious." _

"_You do?"_

"_Indeed."_

_Robin sighed and held Starfire's hands in his. Starfire tilted her head. _

_"I'm sorry things turned out to be this way." Robin said, sadness spilling from his words. He did feel awful. He had tried to make Starfire's first date the best ever and nothing had turned out the way he had planned. Starfire smiled and kissed Robin's cheek. _

_"Are you joking? This is the best date I have ever had!" Robin smirked. "Starfire, this is your first date." _

"_Who said so?" _

_Robin's eyes bugged out and Starfire smiled to denote her joke. "You are easy to fool, you know that?" Robin shook his head and moved the hair from her forehead. "That is because I believe everything that comes out of your mouth."_

_Starfire blushed and Robin smiled. "I may be easy to fool but you are easy to embarrass Starfire." _

"_I am not!"_

"_Wanna bet?"_

"_Try me!"_

_Robin thought about it a little and then decided what he had to do to win the bet. He stared at Starfire and even though she could not see his eyes, she could tell his eyes were looking deeply into hers. "I must no blush! I must no blush!" Starfire thought. Robin slowly cupped Starfire's face with his hands and made his way to her lips. Starfire froze. Robin smiled briefly before pressing his lips against hers and after a few seconds she kissed back. _

_The kiss lasted a little less than a minute and after they separated their lips. They were both blushing. "Do you want to call it even?" Starfire asked. "Why don't we call it even when neither of us blushes? Want to try it again?" Starfire blushed again but nodded. At the end, their date had not been as bad as he had thought. Now that he thought about it, he would have done it all over again if this meant ending up in her arms like this forever._

_"I would still do it all over again." _Robin thought back in the present. He sat at the couch only to be hugged by BB and Cyborg.

"Happy Birthday, man! How old are you? 88?"

"19"

"Still makes you old."

Robin smirked and shook his head. Raven sat next to him and he tensed. No matter how long it had been that he and Raven had their argument, the memory was still fresh in both of their minds. "This is your birthday, wanna call a truce?" Raven asked.

"Yeah sure, why not?"

They both smiled and gave their full attention to the sliding door. Starfire stood behind it, looking aimlessly at the floor. "I apologize for being late."

Robin could not help to stare at her and felt nervous at the flashback he had. _"That feeling again, it's our first date all over again,"_ Robin thought. Starfire walked inside the main room and Robin could not get his eyes off her. She was wearing a short and wavy lavender skirt with a white tank top and a matching lavender blazer. She was using white sandals and had a white purse in her hand. Her ponytail was back but this time her hairs was side-parted, allowing part of her hair to innocently fall and partly cover her right eye. All eyes went from Starfire to Robin who was still gapping at her.

"_Dammit_, girl! You look _nice_! Right, Robin?" Cyborg asked. Robin nodded, still dumbfounded. Starfire blushed and Robin felt his heart racing. _"That blush…her blush is mine."_

Starfire flew towards them and gracefully landed next to Raven. "I think I'm gonna get the T-Car starting," Cyborg said. "And I'm gonna help him find the keys…" BB said, knowing that the T-Car did not use a key. "I'll…just leave." Raven said and disappeared behind BB and Cyborg. Robin and Starfire were left alone to stare into each other's eyes. Starfire fidgeted nervously.

"Happy Birthday, Robin"

"T-thanks, Star."

The silence between them was awkward. They both looked for something to say but their minds seemed to be working rather slow at the moment. Robin rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "You…you look…you look beautiful."

Starfire stroke her skirt and smiled. "Thank you."

"Starfire, I…"

"Let us get going, shall we? You must be starving."

"Sure."

Robin made a gesture for Starfire to walk in front of him and they made their way out of the main room and the Tower. Cyborg drove the T-Car, Raven was the copilot and BB tried his best not to annoy his back seat pals. Cyborg hummed at the song he was listening to and Raven pretended to read a book. She was more concerned about the conversation taken place on the back of the car. She hopped none of them screwed up the opportunity they had to make up.

"Starfire, I would like for us to talk, in private, when we get back from this."

Starfire remembered what "we need to talk" meant. She had seen it a lot in those soap operas and shows she had watched. It never really meant anything good. It almost always meant the boy was no longer interested in the girl. She felt her heart crush at the idea of Robin not wanting her anymore.

"I think we do."

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The next hours were spent having lunch and watching a movie. After the movie had ended and the Titans had arrived at the Tower, Robin had asked Starfire to stay with him. The rest of the Titans understood the bad vibes going on and decided it was best for them not to interfere. They had tried to get them back together. It was not up to them to make it work or send it all to hell. BB stopped at the refrigerator before leaving for his room to avoid the incoming fight. He opened the door and growled.

"Dude, there is nothing here to eat! This thing is empty!"

Cyborg walked to BB and confirmed what his green friend had said. They both sighed deeply. "Maybe if Starfire feels like it, the three of us can go grocery shopping!" Cyborg said.

"Yeah, man! She needs to get out of the Tower. I'm sure she'll come with us!"

"Will you two idiots go to your rooms and don't come out until tomorrow. Let's not mess this thing up."

"You mean more than we already did?"

"Just go!"

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"Do you mind if we talk privately?" Robin asked, fearing her answers, regardless of whether it was a "yes" or a "no."

"Not at all…do you wish to talk here?" Robin shook his head. "No, I just wanted the others to leave. Where do you want to go?" Starfire did not know what to do. She knew that Robin had nothing good to tell her so leaving the Tower was not an option. The main room was also a bad idea as anyone could come in and interrupt them, halfway in their conversation. Maybe staying at the Tower was the best option. They could find a place in the Tower and talk there without the others knowing about it. As long as the rest of the Titans believed they had left, any room but the main room and training room were a good option.

"Why do we not stay here at the Tower? Our friends must surely believe we have left and will not bother to look for us wherever we decided to talk." Robin nodded and asked Starfire to fly them to his room. He opened his window and they were both soon inside. Robin sat on his bed and asked Starfire to sit next to him. She hesitated a little and sat in front of him in one of his chairs.

"What is it you want to tell me, Robin?"

Robin sighed. Where was he supposed to start? If this conversation had been with anyone else, he would have not being so nervous and afraid of what might have happen. However, this was not just anyone; this was the girl who he had loved for many years now and he knew he was going to loose her forever very soon.

"I…I want to show you something." Robin said. He turned to his right to open a drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a small silk bag. He got a small black box out of it and threw the bag inside the drawer before closing it.

"Starfire, I know this last 3 months had been hell with me. I have not been the best boyfriend ever and have been the worst friend in the world."

_"Where he could possibly be going with this? Is he going to suggest breaking up? Does he want the gift he gave for my birthday back?" _

"I'm…so sorry things turned out to be this way. I wish I had never hurt you so much. I don't deserve you Star."

_"He is! He is breaking up with me! I might as well tell him now before he continues this conversation."_

"Robin, before you go on, there is something I must tell you."

"What is it?"

"I'm…leaving…for Tamaran…in a week."

Silence surrounded them. Starfire clasped her hands together and felt them sweat. She did not dare to look at Robin at his eyes. She simply hung her head and waited for Robin's reaction to her confession. Robin swallowed hard, her words echoing in his head. _"She's leaving? She's leaving me?"_

The tension was deep and all that could be heard was the ticking sound of Robin's alarm clock. It seemed they had both held their breath as they were not able to hear the sound of them either. Robin looked at the black box he had in his hands. He was too late; she had already made a decision and had included him in it. He had screwed everything up. If only he had swallowed his pride and had listened to his heart when Starfire tried to talk to him; if only he had acted sooner, if only he had not being an idiot all this time he might have had won her heart again.

Robin opened the black box and stared at the ring it held inside. He had bought it a few days ago with the intention of asking Starfire for forgiveness. It was a promise ring, a promise that he would do anything in his power to regain her happiness to her and win her heart all over again. He extended the box and faced the open side to her.

"This is for you."

Starfire held the little box and stared at the ring. She was utterly confused. Why was he giving her a ring? Did he not plan to breakup with her? Did she read his signs wrong?

"What is this for? I thought I was the one to give you a present in the day of you birth, not the other way around. I have your gift in my room, if only you allowed me to fetch for it…"

"No"

"What?"

"The only thing I want for my birthday is for you to love me again."

Starfire closed her eyes and stood up, still holding the box in her hands. Robin stood up after her and grabbed her hand. He took the box and grabbed the ring with one hand and her hand with the other. "I promise I will redeem myself. I promise I'll make you happy, just promise you'll love me again."

Starfire felt tears forming in her eyes. Robin put the ring on Starfire's finger and stroked her cheek. "I beg you Star…" Starfire put a finger on Robin's mouth and smiled faintly.

"I cannot promise to love you again because I never stopped loving you. Yet, I cannot stay. I must leave Earth and return to my home planet. Do not ask me to promise to stay because I will not be able to do so." Robin gulped.

"Why do you have to return to Tamaran?"

Starfire felt a third presence in the room. She moved her eyes around the room until she found him. There he was and a flashback invaded her memory.

_Starfire was in the bath tub. The Titans had left for a mission and she had decided to leave her room while everyone was out of the Tower. She had prepared the bath tub by filling it with hot water and added the salts and liquids that Raven had given her for Christmas. Starfire soaked herself inside the tub and tried to relax. She had feared doing this since Slade had wanted to drown her but she had gotten so used to his presence that she did not care if he appeared._

_Of course, he did._

_Starfire opened her eyes and saw Slade resting his back on the wall opposite to the tub. Starfire glared at him and closed her eyes. "What is it that you want, Slade?"_

_Slade smirked and took his time to answer while he crossed his arms and glanced at Starfire. "I am just checking on you. What if you fall asleep and drown? Who am I going to scare then?"_

"_You do not scare me anymore, Slade"_

"_But I did. Didn't I?"_

_Starfire did not answer. It was true. She had been so afraid of Slade, of what he could do her, of what he had already done. Yet, seeing him everyday and every night had become like a routine to her. She figured that as long as she bothered him and not Robin, her feelings did not matter._

"_Do you not have something better to do? It must be lonely to be death when no one loved you."_

"_Probably, but you will keep me company when you I kill you."_

"_Why have you not done it already?"_

"_I like to see you suffer first."_

_Starfire had closed her eyes and Slade had disappeared when she re-opened them._

"_Another day to bear this pain."_

Starfire returned to the present.

"Because I cannot continue living in this nightmare Slade has trapped me in. I cannot move on. I cannot bear it anymore."

_"Slade,"_ Robin thought. Even in death he took away what he cared for the most in this world. Was it Slade fault Starfire was leaving? No, it was not. It was Robin's own fault for not sticking up for her she needed him. He had failed her and had no right blaming her. Yet, his heart screamed to grab onto her. His heart ordered him to never let go of her. He would listen to his heart this time. He knew it was right and he had to hold on to her for dear life. Robin surprised her by embracing her tightly. Maybe if he never let go of her she would never be able to leave. Maybe he could convince her to stay. Maybe he could make her see how useless and helpless he was without her. Maybe she did not have to leave at all. This was it, all or nothing, and he preferred _all_.

"Why do you want to leave? You know you don't have to," Robin said, almost choking in his own words. Starfire shook her head.

"But I do Robin. We have tried everything we can here on Earth. I tried talking to you and telling you how I feel, I have meditated with Raven, you even took me to a doctor and I am not even part of the team anymore. You tried to make things easier for me but none of these things worked. I am not saying it is your fault because I know and everyone knows that _you have_ tried, by _X'hal _that you have tried! I am so thankful that there is someone on this planet that cares so much for my well-being."

"But Starfire, there _must_ be other things that we haven't tried. There _must_ be something else besides leaving." Robin pleaded. "Robin, I–," Starfire began but stopped.

"No! Don't! You _can't _leave! I don't want you to leave and I won't let you leave! I _won't _lose you _again_!" Robin looked behind Starfire's shoulder and saw Slade standing by the window. _"You sick son of a bitch! Leave her alone!"_ Robin embraced her even tighter to somehow protect her from Slade and to emphasize his desire of her not leaving.

"Robin, I _can_ leave and I _will_ leave. You cannot stop me from leaving, but this does not mean that you will lose me. You will _never_ lose me, regardless of where I am."

Robin held her tighter if this was even possible. He closed his eyes and felt how the love of his life was slipping though his hands. He hated himself for not being able to stop it. _"If I had not acted like such a jerk for these last 3 months, if I had showed her how much she means to me. She, she would have stayed by my side. She's leaving because I failed her. She's leaving because of me."_ Robin closed his eyes even tighter.

"Starfire, it's not fair. Everything we have been through was for nothing? You can just forget all about it and leave?" _"Because I can't; I can't forget about you. I **don't** want to forget about you. Please, just one more chance. Give me one last chance."_

"It is _not_ that. You must understand. I want to heal myself so I can help _you _heal. We have tried to heal together, but we have no been able to do so. This is my last resort. By leaving for Tamaran I can get away from the evil memories that are keeping me trapped in the past. I can breathe fresh air and use Tamarean methods to deal with this situation. I can become myself again."

Robin opened his eyes and gave her the angriest look Starfire had evener seen. His look made her flinch."Is that what _I_ am to you? An evil memory you want to _erase_?" Robin asked, obviously hurt by Starfire's comment.

Starfire shook her head and cupped Robin's face while pulling it closer to her and kissing him slowly. He was slow to react as they had not kissed in a long time and had surely missed it. A few seconds after, the kiss was over and Starfire spoke. "Do not speak nonsense, Robin. Do not act like a fool for you know what I am meaning. I do not wish to forget you or lose you; I merely wish to heal myself with other methods that we lack in this world."

"Why can't you try those methods _here_?"

Starfire sighed. _"If only you knew how much I have tried and how much I have suffered. I cannot let you know of my everyday calvary for I know you will suffer with me and that is a pain I wish to spare you from." _"I have already tried Robin but Slade keeps messing with my mind, mostly when I am alone"

It was now Robin's time to cup her face. "Then I won't leave you alone, _ever._"

Starfire's eyes denoted her little likeness of his answer. "You know you _cannot_ keep that promise, and it is not fair to you either. You would have no life of your own. I cannot do that to you." Starfire said, removing her hands from his face and tried to widen the distance between their faces but Robin made sure it did not happen by pulling her face to him. He looked straight into her green eyes before he spoke. "Starfire, you _don't_ understand. You _are_ my life."

"Please…"

"Star…just…just tell me what I have to do, I'll do anything for you not to leave the Titans, not to leave _me_. You just have to name it; I don't care what it takes. I'll do it. Tell me what it is that I have to do for you stay…with me…_forever_"

Starfire felt her eyes fill with new tears at Robin's desperate words and at his sorrow face. She could tell he was dying inside. She knew that every single word he had just spoken had come from the heart and that he had meant every single one of them. She knew that for Robin as well as her, these past 3 months had been hell. However, there was no turning back now. She had made her decision and she had to go through with it, regardless of how much it hurt.

"You have to let me go." Robin swallowed hard. Starfire hugged him. Robin did not hug her back, trying to show his disagreement with her decision but he could not help himself and he held her back. They held each other for a few more minutes until Robin broke the hug. He looked at Starfire's eyes and sighed heavily before putting a hand on her neck and the other on her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss. Starfire kissed back but soon realized this was not like any other kiss he had given to her before. This kiss was deeper, more meaningful, and more passionate.

With his kiss Robin was trying to tell her how much he loved her and how much he needed her. His kiss asked her to stay but, at the same time, his kiss also said goodbye and even though he was putting his whole heart and soul into the kiss, they both knew it was not enough. A simple kiss would not express what they both felt for each other and the immense sorrow they felt at the moment. The grief caused by the departure of the one you love, of the one you live for. Robin led Starfire to his bed, never breaking the kiss, and carefully pushed her onto it. He lay on top of her and, for a split second, he had second thoughts of what was going to happen between them. Starfire used this short moment to remove Robin's mask and carelessly threw it on the floor.

"Starfire, I think we shouldn't…"

Starfire put a finger on his mouth.

"It is time."

Robin wanted to say something else but Starfire made sure he did not have the chance by kissing him in the same way he had kissed just seconds ago, giving Robin the reassurance he needed at the time. He was nervous, they both were, who would not be nervous before their first time? They were going to take their relationship to the next level and neither of them wanted to back down. That night, they were going to show each other how much they cared about the other and how much they loved each other, in a way they had never done before, but had wanted for a long time. Tonight, there was no one else in the world, and there was no _tomorrow_. Tonight, it was only _them_, and there was only _now_.

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**Click here for next chapter--------------------------------------------------------------------->**


	10. Morning After

**A/N: **Chapter may cause cavities. Make sure you visit your dentist after you read it.

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**Chapter 9**

Morning After

A loud banging of the door was heard and Robin growled. _"Just ignore it Robin. It will go away!"_ Robin thought.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

_"I guess it won't"_ Robin grabbed his pillow and put it over his head to avoid the banging but it did not stop. _"Man! Why the hell am I so tired?"_

Robin took a moment to recall the events of last night and it suddenly struck him. He had brought Starfire to his room. They had talked and things had ended in a way he had never expected.

"_Was it all a dream?"_

Robin pulled his arm out and searched for Starfire's body next to him on his bed but she was not there anymore. She had left a long time ago as the spot where she had been was already cold. Robin opened one of his eyes and threw his pillow away when he remembered Starfire's words.

"_I…am leaving…for Tamaran…in a week."_

Robin sighed deeply. It had taken this words from her for him to open his eyes to reality. To realize how much he needed her by his side and it had been too late because she had decided to leave. _"I still have a week, though. I can convince her to stay." _Robin turned back and expected to see his clothes where he had threw them on the floor last night but they were not there anymore. His clothes were neatly folded on the chair next to his bed.

In fact, now that he took a good look at his entire room, everything was in place and neat. Even his mask was at arms reach. He extended his arm to grab his mask and put it on his face again. The only _mess_ in his room was a paper on the floor.

"_Starfire probably cleaned the room before leaving. I wished she would have stayed a little longer with me."_

Bang! Bang! Bang!

_"Shit! People let me sleep!"_

Robin wondered what time could it be. Between yawns he took a quick look at his alarm clock before reluctantly getting up from bed and picking the paper from the floor. The alarm clock read 3:00 in the afternoon.

"_Dammit! I sure needed to sleep!"_

BANG! BANG!

"Coming people! _Geez_!"

Robin bent down to grab the piece of paper on the floor and realized it was note. He also grabbed his underwear and quickly put it back on before heading to the door. He took a few seconds to read the note, his eyes half-closed still.

"_Tried waking you up but wouldn't answer. Went to buy groceries."_

_"I forgot today is grocery day. Starfire probably left with BB and Cyborg."_ Robin folded the piece of paper and finally arrived at the door. He opened it and saw BB and Cyborg standing innocently on the other side of the door.

"You better have a goddamned _good_ reason for waking me up." BB and Cyborg smiled. "Yeah, man…we were wondering if you could lend us Starfire for a second. We cooked her favorite food to celebrate you guys are back together."

"How the _hell_ do you guys know we are back together?"

"Raven told us."

"How does _she_ know?"

"She uhm…felt _weird_ vibes last night…"

Robin lightly blushed and shook his head to erase the memories of last night. He did not need BB and Cyborg knowing the effect Starfire had on him, especially last night.

"Well, I don't feel like _sharing_ Starfire with anyone today."

"Don't be greedy, man! You had her all morning."

"But I didn't know I had her with me because I was asleep!"

"Sure, whatever! To hell you were asleep! She didn't even go with us to buy groceries!"

Robin opened his mouth to respond but stopped. He recalled the paper he was holding in his other hand and was suddenly filled with a feeling of uncertainness.

"She didn't?"

"Nope"

"Who left the message under my door?"

"We did."

Robin gulped. He slowly turned back and desperately looked at his room. He searched for a clue that Starfire was still around. He jumped to the bed and found nothing suspicious on it after he frantically shook the blankets and pillows. He then ran to his neatly folded clothes and searched his pockets.

Nothing.

Robin jumped to the other side of the room and searched under the bed, inside his closet, behind the curtain, inside his drawers and even on himself. BB and Cyborg stared at him blankly from the door. _"He totally lost it this time,"_ BB thought.

"Where's Raven?"

"She's waiting for us in the kitchen."

"Has she talked to Starfire?"

"Nope. She ended up going with us to the grocery store since Starfire was not available."

"Did you look for her in her room?"

"Yes."

"Bathroom?"

"Yes."

"Everywhere?"

"Everywhere but your room because it was locked and we tried to wake you up earlier but wouldn't answer."

Robin's fears were growing faster. He again looked around his room, this time paying more attention to his surroundings while her voice echoed in his mind. "_I am leaving for Tamaran."_

"_You cannot stop me."_

"_I have to leave and I will leave."_

"No," Robin whispered. Finally, a white plain object caught his attention. It was neatly placed on the desk opposite to his bed. He had no bothered looking at it because his desk was always full papers and newspaper clippings. Yet, there was something he knew he had not seen before. That white paper was not of his belonging. He slowly walked to his desk, unconsciously holding his breath. BB and Cyborg walked inside his room concerned about the look on his face. Something bad was going on and they feared he knew exactly what it was.

Robin arrived at his desk and took a couple of seconds before reaching for the folded paper. He carefully lifted it and with the same slowness he had walked to his destination he opened the paper. His heart began beating faster, so fast that he could feel the pounding in his throat and his temples. If his heart beat a little bit faster it would surely stop right there and then. Robin extended the paper and saw what for a second seemed like simple lines and circles on the paper.

"_Words, these are words."_

Robin forced himself to concentrate on the _meaning_ of the circles and lines. He was too nervous to even focus but he put all of his efforts to read the content of the paper. He read it. The paper had only 3 words. Words that were not supposed to hurt. Words that were supposed to relief pain, not inflict it. Three words he did not want to hear at the moment but he did:

"_I am sorry."_

These three little words told Robin the truth; a truth he was praying was not present. _"She's…gone."_

Robin turned to face his friends and realized they were right behind him, his faces expecting an explanation for his behavior. He simply gave Cyborg the paper, walked by passed them, grabbed clean clothes and left his room.

111111111

"What do you mean she's gone?" Raven asked BB and Cyborg who had showed her the paper that Robin had handed them before disappearing from his room. "How can you be sure of this? Where's Robin?"

"He's taking a shower. I guess he needed to think things over."

"But last night…things were perfect. How did this happen?"

BB and Cyborg shrugged. "Raven, you should have seen the look on Robin's face. He was _devastated_. Even _worse_ than when we thought Starfire was dead." Raven shook her head. _"What have I done? I should have kept my nose out of all of this!"_

"What do we do Raven?" BB asked, feeling sorry for his friends. At that moment the door slid open and revealed a serious but hurt Robin. He was back in his Titan uniform and walked straight at them. BB, Cyborg and Raven glanced at each other, lacking the words that would comfort his friend. The only thing they could do was to help Robin find her as they knew this was exactly what he would want to do now.

"When do we start looking for her? Where can she be?" Cyborg asked. Robin extended his arm to indicate to BB that he wanted Starfire's note back. BB handed him the note and Robin folded neatly before putting it inside his utility belt.

"Are you going to use her fingerprints to track her? She didn't take her T-Com and the GPS locators used on her clothes are not responding."

Robin shook his head and gave his back to the Titans before walking back to the door. The Titans again looked at each other, not being able to read Robin's signs. Usually, he would have left already to look for her, regardless of the amount of time it took. When it came to Starfire being lost, he never listened to anyone but his heart. "Man, you better not go by yourself and look for her on your own. We want to find her too!" Cyborg said.

Robin stopped cold and without even looking back he replied in an angry but painful tone. "I am _not_ going to look for her. _None_ of us are. Is that clear?"

The Titans' mouth hung. What the hell was wrong with Robin? Did things did not go as well as Raven had thought? What did they miss?

"What do you mean we ain't looking for her? She could be scared or hurt!"

"Yeah, we don't care if you are an arrogant jerk, we are gonna look for her!"

"I SAID NO!"

BB, Cyborg and Raven glared at his back. How could he just ignore his still girlfriend? How could he be so cold-hearted? BB knew what Starfire must have feel. He had been heartbroken once and he did not want Starfire to go through the same thing. He knew how fragile Starfire really was and he would do anything to spare her from the feeling of rejection and betrayal he had suffered. Robin resumed his walking but BB's words stopped him again.

"I thought she meant something to you! I thought you _loved_ her!"

Robin's hands turned into fists and trembled as he felt the anger fill his entire body. Why did the Titans insist in believing he was the bad guy of the story when he was not? "I _do_, and that's why I have to let her go."

"What are you talking about?"

Robin sighed deeply and closed his eyes. He did not dare to turn back and face his friends. He had just come to get her note back and what he really wanted to do now was to return to his room. He needed time alone. He needed more time to think.

"Last night she told me she was leaving for Tamaran; that she had to, to be finally cured. I didn't want her to go but she told me that if I really loved her I would understand."

At that moment, Robin's friends felt even worse. They thought they were the only ones wanting desperately for Starfire to come back and they now knew they were terribly wrong. Perhaps Robin was the victim in the story. Maybe Starfire had decided to break up with him and this was her way of saying goodbye _forever_.

"I'm sorry she dumped you, man." BB said, trying to ease the tension that surrounded them. Robin felt a nerve twitch when he heard the word "dumped." She never actually said she was breaking up with him, right? She never really dumped him, right? "She _didn't_ dump me. She just had to straighten some things up, _away_ from here"

"_Maybe_ she has another boyfriend in Tamaran," BB made a second attempt to try to ease up the mood. His effort has failed again, miserably. "Bite me, Beast Boy."

Ouch! What else could they do? If Robin said that it had been Starfire's decision to leave by herself and he was not going to do anything about it he was probably right in his decisions. Besides, neither of them wanted to mess in Robin's life anymore as the only thing they had done was to build a barrier between the couple. The Titans felt responsible for Starfire's decision to leave but they were better off not interfering. At least not anytime soon.

"Hey, relax! We are just teasing you. Starfire will return when she's ready. The only thing _you_ should worry about is being ready for her return," Cyborg said, trying to cheer up his friend. Robin began walking again and walked outside the room. Just about when the sliding door was going to close he lifted his head and spoke one last time before disappearing behind the door. "I wasn't even ready for her departure," and he left.

Robin's pace became slower as he walked on the almost-dark halls of the Tower. His mind tortured him with Starfire's voice and face. Memories of times spent with her filled his mind and crushed his heart and soul. He knew where she was and why she had left but this did not mean he had to accept the decision of even come to terms with it. Starfire had left him alone again and this time it hurt even worse. After that had happened between them last night, he hopped she would have changed her mind and had decided to stay. How wrong he had been.

He could not blame her for trying to escape her misery here on Earth but he could not forgive her for leaving him behind and for taking that decision without his consent. _"Aren't we supposed to be a couple?_" Robin sighed._ Who am I kidding? I was not the best guy ever to walk on this planet these past months."_ As much as this statement hurt he knew it was true. _"Why did I push her away from me?"_ Robin's reasons for ignoring Starfire had seemed so rational back then but now they seemed to make no sense whatsoever. _"What was I thinking?"_

He had been thinking that Starfire would understand his distance. He had been thinking she did not need him. He had been thinking that he did not need Starfire. He had thought wrong. _"Why am I still here? Why am I not going after her?"_ Robin stopped right next to Starfire's door and aimed to reach the doorknob but his hand never made it. _"What am I doing? She's not there. She's gone."_

"_And she won't come back, Robin."_

"_Slade?"_

"_Who else will give you a taste of reality? Of course it is me, Robin!"_

"_You must be enjoying this, aren't you?"_

"_Of course I am! I don't know what I enjoy the most. The fact that the bitch left you or the fact that you thought she ever had feelings for you. Disappointing, Robin; very disappointing."_

Robin chuckled.

"_Well, Slade. I don't know what I enjoy the most; the fact that you are **dead** or the fact that you expect me to believe that Starfire doesn't love me. You can't fool me again."_

"_Believe what you wish, Robin. Sooner or later you will open your eyes, especially when that alien doesn't come back ever again."_

"_She will return."_

"_Not if I kill her before she even makes it to the Tower."_

"_You? Defeat Starfire? You can't even touch her. She killed you, remember?"_

"_Can't I Robin? How do you think she twisted her ankle?"_

Robin froze. What was Slade talking about? Was he the one who…? No, it just could not be! This had to be another of Slade's dirty tricks. He could not have hurt Starfire. Slade was dead, for crying out loud!

"_She had an accident."_

"_Is that what she told you?  
"That is the truth."_

"_No, it's not. I was the one who twisted her ankle. I was the one who gave her all those bruises. I was close to drowning her. She's pretty tough you know? For a woman, I mean."_

"_I don't believe you."_

"_She begged me to kill her. She wanted to end the pain I inflicted on her. Of course I could not grant that wish until I made her suffer. Hell is not a fun place, Robin."_

Robin's shoulders tensed. Why did Starfire never told him the truth? She said she did not remember anything. What reason did she have to lie to him? Why could she not trust him?

"_It kills you to know she didn't trust you, doesn't it? You haven't exactly been honest with her either. You deny my existence in your life and she knows it."_

"_Shut up!"_

"_I grabbed her by the neck until she turned blue."_

"_Shut UP!"_

"_I kicked her until my feet were tired."_

"_SHUT UP!"_

"_I even had the change to take full advantage of her when she passed out."_

"_SHUT THE FUCK UP!"_

"_But you know what the most interesting thing of all is? That she didn't tell you about it, or the other worthless Titans. She told that doctor of hers. She spent the entire day with him and she didn't tell you. He knows everything because she trusted him more than you. I think she might even like him…she looked comfortable in his arms."_

"_What the hell are you talking about?"_

"_I follow her everywhere, on Earth of course. I saw her hug the doctor and I saw him enjoying it too."_

Robin grabbed his birdarang and sent it towards the image of Slade. The birdarang passed right through him and made a hole on the wall. Robin growled and knew what he had to do now. He had to talk to Dr. Jones and it had to be today.

11111111111

Robin's R-Cycle screeched as he forced it to stop after the fast velocity it has been driven. Robin had run passed the Titans, still at the living room, and ignored their questions about his destination. "Don't follow," was the only thing he said and left.

Robin ran inside the hospital and ignored the patients' stares. He went to the elevator but it was full so he walked towards the door of the emergency stairs. He stood at the middle of the stairs and used his grappling hook to make his way easier to the floor where Dr. J's office was. Robin had no time to waste, he needed answers now.

He jumped to the door and kicked it open. Once inside the floor, he looked both ways before deciding which way to go. He saw the familiar counter to his left and walked fast to it. The secretary saw him and asked him to sign-in but he ignored her and headed straight for Dr. J's door. He turned the doorknob but it was locked.

"You can't go in there without and appointment!"

Robin glared at the secretary and she opted to close her mouth. Robin was about to kick the door open when it opened by itself. Dr J glanced at Robin and then at his frightened-to-death secretary before glaring at Robin. "She's gone, isn't she?" the doctor asked. Robin's anger grew at the acknowledgement of the doctor's issue about Starfire. Robin could not contain himself and punched the doctor right on the face before going in his office and locking the door from the inside. The doctor touched his chin and stood up.

"I don't think the punch was necessary, Robin."

Robin growled and grabbed the doctor by his shirt. Even though Robin was a few inches shorter than the doctor, he managed to lift his body from the floor. Robin was not angry, he was mad. "Why did she leave? Did you fucking convince her to leave you bastard? Did you lay a hand on her, you mother…?" Robin was not able to finish his question as Dr J hit Robin hard on his stomach. Robin fell to the floor, coughing and touching his stomach. Dr J fixed his shirt and crossed his arms.

"You better calm down. I _didn't_ convince her to do anything she didn't want to and I _didn't _touch her in anyway she _didn't_ want to be touched. If you calm down and sit I may tell you what is going on."

Robin lifted his head to glare at Dr J and slowly stood up, still rubbing his stomach. "Who the hell do you think you are to give me orders?"

"The guy who Starfire trusted enough to tell me the truth about the night Slade attacked her."

Robin flinched. So Slade was right. He had been the one who attacked her and she had told the doctor about it. _"Why, Star? Why not me?"_

Dr J pointed an empty chair to Robin while he walked behind his desk. Even though Robin was younger than Dr J, the punch he had received from Robin had hurt, a lot. Dr J exercised but his strength could not compare to the one owned by a superhero. Especially not after all the trouble the Titans had gone through, or at least the problems Starfire had told him about.

Robin decided to decline the offer to sit down and the doctor shrugged. _"Now you come, don't you? She had to leave so you could know how much she meant to you. I feel sorry for you Robin."_ The doctor sat on his desk and glanced at Robin who was standing in front of his desk with his arms crossed.

"How do _you _know she left?"

"She told me a _long_ time ago."

"How _long_ ago?"

"Three months."

"What!"

The doctor smirked at Robin's surprised reaction. "Uhm, 3 months," Robin fists clenched. _"Three months? He knew about it for so long and didn't bother to call me? He did it on purpose, he wants her for himself!"_

"She had doubts about it but _certain_ situations in her life pushed her to finally go through with it. She told me she was leaving the last time she came to see me. Of course _you_ wouldn't know when that was since you were too busy with your _crime-fighting and research_."

"You don't know what you are talking about! You don't know me."

"And I don't pretend to do so. I am merely repeating what Starfire told me about you."

Robin knew he was telling the truth but he was not going to accept it in front of him. Robin did not want to even imagine all the things Starfire had told him, being that Dr J was the only one she believed she could talk to. Why would she not believe that? Robin did not bother asking her how she felt and how her therapy was going in such a long time and the Titans were almost unaware of the situation the couple was going through. She had no where else to go and no one else to turn to. He had been her only option and Robin's attitude had pushed her to trusting this _doctor_ more than her _supposed_ boyfriend himself.

"Why did she leave?"

"Didn't she tell you? Did you even bother to check on her? She was suffering Robin. She was suffering so very much. Slade was making her life a living hell."

"What do you know about Slade?"

"Enough to say he deserved what he got and to despise him for hurting Starfire in the process."

"Why do you care so much about her?"

"Well, someone has to care about her and if it was not going to be you then I guess it was my job. I am her psychologist, am I?"

"On the contrary, you _were_ his psychologist because she _ain't _coming here anymore!"

"Of course she wont, she's gone back to her planet and I don't even know if she will _ever _come back."

"Yes she will."

"She said she didn't know. She had nothing to be here for. She didn't have what she _loved_ the most. Her friends could not help her and you _didn't want_ to help her."

"I did. I just didn't know how! Did you help her? I doubt it because she was still sick when she left!"

"Yes, sick of Slade…and you."

Robin hated this doctor even more by the second. How dare he say that Starfire was alone by herself? Was Robin not around? Even if he did not say it or showed it, Robin never really left her side. He always secretly looked after her and made sure she was alright. _"Like that night outside the Tower when she walked on the beach,"_ Robin thought.

"You love her too, don't you?"

Dr J eyes opened wide before he regained composure. He crossed his arms and glanced at Robin before answering.

"Perhaps I do."

"I knew it! You want her for yourself don't you? You tried to win her over! You tried stealing her away from me! I'll kill you!"

Robin jumped on the desk and pulled his Bo staff out but Jones was faster and jumped from his chair. Robin tried to run after him but his anger blinded him and ended up loosing balance and hit the floor, hard. Robin cursed and hit the floor with his closed hand before looking straight up to the doctor that he now considered his #1 rival.

"I tried to win her over. I tried to make her see how much better I was for her than you are. Truth is I began to develop feelings for her but she never shared them with me."

Robin looked at the doctor and by the look on his face Robin could tell he was not such a threat anymore. Maybe he never really was a threat. Dr J offered Robin a hand to help him stand up and Robin reluctantly accepted it. Once on his feet, Robin asked Dr J if Starfire had ever really become sick of him. The doctor shook his head.

"Regardless of what you did to her she never thought less of you. She never blamed you for anything and she never talked bad about you. She always talked highly about you and she always said how she had not been able to survive in this _strange _world when she first arrived if it wasn't for you. She has always been grateful for what you did for her and she feels lucky to have had come upon you."

Robin felt a know form in his throat. There he was, hating the fact that Starfire had not considered him or asked for his opinion when deciding to leave. Hating the fact that she had not told him anything about Slade attacking her and not once in all this time had Starfire thought about him. Every step she had taken and every moment of her misery she had thought about Robin's well-being. He had only though about himself.

_"I want to heal myself so I can help you heal."_ Robin remembered Starfire's words. _"She truly wants to help me, even if that meant seeking help away from here."_ Robin's face hung in shame. Starfire was the best thing that had happened to him. She was one in a million. She was the most wonderful woman in the entire universe and she loved him. She could have any man she wanted but she wanted him.

"Did she tell you what she plans to do in Tamaran?"

"She didn't know exactly. I guess their medicine is more advanced than ours. They have that ancient remedy for the common cold so I guess any help she can get there will have more effect on her than anything we can offer here."

Robin nodded. "I am sorry I hit you. I'll make sure a doctor comes and sees you." Dr J chuckled while touching his chin. "Robin, I _work_ in a hospital. Besides, I can't really blame you…I _did_ try to steal your girl."

"You are not the first."

"And probably won't be the last."

"Yeah, just make sure you take care of her. She doesn't _belong_ to you, Robin."

_"But I belong to her,"_ Robin thought. Dr J made his way to his desk and opened a drawer. He searched inside it until he found what he was looking for: a sealed envelope. He closed the drawer and handed Robin the envelope. Robin stared at it for a second before accepting it and then looked questioningly at Jones. "What is it?"

"Starfire gave it to me a month ago. She knew you would come here when she left and asked me to give it to you when the time came. Whatever information she gives you there use it wisely. Next time she leaves she won't come back, you know?"

"So she is returning this time?"

"That is the plan. You will have to wait and see."

Robin nodded and looked carefully at the envelope. It did look like it had been made long ago. _"The last time Starfire left me a letter was to tell me she was leaving with another man. I wonder what she wrote me now."_

Jones sat on his chair and looked at Robin before clearing his throat. Robin returned to reality.

"I have a patient coming in 5 minutes. Why don't you take return home and read the letter? There is nothing else I can tell you, as there is nothing more that I know."

"I guess you are right."

"Good luck Robin. Remember what I told you."

Robin looked at Jones before heading out from his office. He closed the door and apologized to the secretary before leaving. Inside the office Jones head spun with the entire situation he had just experienced. Starfire had warned him about Robin's fiery attitude when it came to her. He did not expect him to be so real.

"I hope you learn from this, Robin. You think _you_ are all she _needs_ but in reality, _she_ is all you _have_."

11111111111111

Robin arrived at the Tower and went straight to the roof. The sun was almost completely gone at the horizon and the beautiful view reminded him of Starfire. He would never be able to continue his life without remembering Starfire everytime he saw a sunrise or a sunset. In fact, he would never be able to continue his life without Starfire by his side. He had finally come to realize that his life now was in her hands and that now she was gone, he was going to live every second of his life waiting for he return.

Starfire's return was going to be his reason for living and once she came back, Starfire herself was going to be his reason to live. He was going to live to see her one more day, to listen to her voice one more day, to brighten his day with her smile and to be there to dry her tears. HE always feared what he would do when the Titans were no more but now he had found his true purpose. He was going to devote his life to her and to her only. He was going to devote his life to her happiness as her happiness was his own happiness as well.

Robin found a comfortable spot on the floor of the roof, resting his back on the side of the door. He was going to take advantage of the last rays of the sun to read the letter Starfire had left him. He grabbed the letter from his utility belt and opened the envelope. He carefully slid the letter out and unfolded it. The first thing he noticed was the smell of Starfire all over the piece of paper. It was as if she was there next to him. Robin read the date: March 4th, 2005. _"This was written exactly a month ago yesterday."_

"_Dear Robin,_

_If you are reading this letter it means that I have left for Tamaran and that you have visited Dr Jones. I hope you were not a savage with him and that you did not end up with this letter in your hands after killing him. I hope he handed you this letter after a civilized conversation between you and him. I know 'I am sorry' was not exactly the kind of goodbye you expected from me but I did not have the courage and the heart to say goodbye face-to-face. Besides, I am well aware that you would have tied me up to a tree before allowing me to leave. _

_I do not wish for you to understand what has happened in my life as I have not been good in letting you know about all my pain. The reason I decided to spare you the trouble was because I could not see your worried face for something I provoked myself. I know this was a coward decision on my part but if you feel the same for me and you recall the times you opted to abandon the team before asking for help you will understand where I am coming from. Please do not feel hatred for me as I cannot have any other feeling for you that is not pure love itself._

_As I sit down here and write this, my heart aches with the idea of my departure. I tell you where I am going to because I want you to know where I am and for you to rest assure about my safety but I ask you not to follow. I shall return when the time is right. Please wait for me. Think of me whenever you have the chance. I will think of you every second of day as well. _

_This is very difficult for me Robin. I did not want to resource to this but the situation left me with no other option. Do not blame yourself for this for it was not your fault. This is no one's fault actually; it is only a twist of fate, a path that we must cross in order to be together. Do not see this situation as a problem but as a method to solve what we presently encounter. We shall laugh about this one day._

_Besides the obvious reason for me to write this letter –to explain why I left, I also wish to let you know of how I feel for you. My feelings have never changed but have only increased. Whenever you feel alone or wish to see my face, hold onto this letter, re-read it if you wish, and remember that there is a lonely soul on the other side of the universe aching for your touch and missing your presence. We will be victorious, Robin. We will overcome this. I know we can and we will._

_Whenever you feel like hating me for leaving, curse my name to the void and scream how much you regret meeting me if it helps. However, at the end, think about all the great moments we spent together and how I wish to be with you as much as you wish to be with me. It is ok to be angry or upset but please always remember that no matter where I am and what I do you are always in my mind and in my prayers. _

_But most importantly, remember that you will never truly be alone. I will always be with you, watching over you, thinking of you, breathing because of you. My heart belongs to you and nothing and no one can ever change that. _

_Eir bohan luk rand'ir, Robin._

_Starfire"_

Robin felt his throat closing and his chest shrink. He held onto Starfire's letter as if Starfire's return depended on it. Starfire had put her heart out in this letter and had served its purpose. Starfire's words had given him the strength he needed to wait for her. Everything seemed to clear now. This was just one more obstacle the needed to overcome in order for them to be together, this time forever. He would keep her letter close to him to reassure him that she would be coming back someday and he would be here on the roof to receive her with his open arms.

Robin folded the letter and placed it next to her note. He thought about keeping the envelope in his drawer as he lifted it from the floor when he felt something else was inside it. Robin tilted the envelope until an object fell to the floor, rolled over a few feet away from him and finally stopped. Robin followed the object with his eyes until he was finally able to reach for it. He picked it up from the floor and placed it on top of his opened hand.

It was a ring.

Robin grabbed the ring and examined it carefully. It looked very similar to the ring Robin had given to Starfire: it was gold with squeaky lines all around it but he knew it was not the same one because something was engraved inside it.

"_I love you"_

Robin closed his hand and pressed firmly against the ring before reopening his hand and putting the ring on one of his fingers. Robin played with the ring with his thumb before closing his eyes and relaxing his entire body. The sun had completely disappeared and was replaced by a big bright moon. Robin sighed deeply and opened his eyes to stare at the stars.

"I'll be waiting for you, Star. Please don't take too long," Robin whispered and fell asleep on the roof.

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

**A/N: **Some of you asked me if the story is ending soon. I'm afraid not anytime soon. I have a setup for this story and if fits 20-25 chapters. You can say that the first 10-12 chapters are the background info you guys needed (Besides the other two previous stories of course!) to understand what will come next. Hopefully I wont lose any of you in the transition and don't hate me for these two chapters. We can't be happy without first shedding some tears.


	11. Fear

**Chapter 10**

Fear

The May sunlight illuminated the dark halls of Titans Tower. The river of light bathed the walls and floors of any room it was granted access to, including the empty room that belonged to Starfire. The now _ownerless_ room waited for its keeper as the pet who is left behind by its master with the promise of return. Robin had prohibited anyone, including himself, from stepping into the room. He did not want anything out-of-place when she returned and he did not want her scent to escape the confines of her dwelling. Countless times had Robin walked by Starfire's door and some of these times he had stopped and placed an open hand on the door. His fingers ached to type the code to enter her room but he had always been able to stop himself.

Returning to her room was to accept her absence to be everlasting and giving up all hope for her safe return. Robin did not want to even consider the fact that she might not return to him ever again, and found strength in his heart to get himself out of bed everyday and face the new day. Whenever his mind began playing tricks on him and his heart skipped a beat at the mere suggestion of losing her, his fingers immediately searched for the ring he held in his left hand and stroke it to make sure it was still there. This ring was the only contact he had with Starfire and, at some times, its promise was the only reason he was able to hold on.

A month had passed since Starfire left. Surprisingly for the Titans, Robin had been apparently taken her absence rather well. What the Titans did not know was that Robin gained courage from the letter she had left him and from the ring he had found in the envelope. Robin still had to bear with the fact that Slade was behind his every move and behind his every thought. Robin's nightmares had increased but he always reminded himself that he had to be strong. He had to be strong for Starfire; he had to be strong for his friends, and he had to be strong for himself.

The Titans had tried to make things easier on Robin by not bringing Starfire up in their conversations. It was not that they had something against her but they could not help to feel guilty when they saw Robin's face darkened when they knew he was thinking about her not being there with them. Whenever Starfire's name was brought up in their conversations, Robin's face would sadden and usually he would leave to his room. The Titans had no clue whatsoever of what to do to cheer him up but what they did know was that they had to stay strong and hopeful for Robin's sake.

Something that the Titans had learned since Starfire had left, was that the time and the bad experiences they have had in the past had contributed to change them. They had forgotten what life truly was about. They had forgotten the "fun" part of their job and that they were still young. It was true that most of them were not so much teenagers anymore, but they were still _kids_. The Titans knew that they had lost many of those fun things in life for worrying too much about the past. The past was gone and what mattered was the future ahead of them. Even though Starfire's absence was the reason they had come to realize these facts, they still missed her and woke up every day, wishing to see her bright smile come through the main door again.

Missions had been scarce since Starfire left. They had thought that as soon as the villains took notice of Starfire's absence, they would have tried to strike everyday or at least throw the Titans off schedule just for the heck of it. Truth was that this past month had been one of the quietest ones in Jump City, and the Titans were grateful for that. After all that emotional and mental exhaustion they had gone through in the last years, they sure needed a break; a break from crime-fighting, a break from riddle-cracking, a break from the routine. The now peaceful city they lived in offered just that: peace and time to relax, time to stop and smell the roses, time to be young.

Raven now had the chance to meditate but she secretly missed Starfire's _interruptions_. _"May we take part in the art of toe-nail painting, Raven?"_ was Starfire's phrase to get Raven's attention. She would never give up to convince Raven to do _girly _stuff like trying new hairdo's, shop for new clothes or even attend a one-day spa. Raven never thought she would actually miss Starfire's _girlish _suggestions. Raven had come to realize that even though she and Starfire were very different, they had become best friends. Being the only two women at the Tower had kind of "forced" them to rely on each other for the _girl stuff_ but now that she was gone, Raven knew that this supposed _necessity_ had grown to become a great friendship.

At first, Raven had felt guilty of not hanging out with Starfire when she realized how lonely Starfire was in this strange and new world to her. It took Raven a lot of time to realize that she had been in Starfire's position once and that Robin had been the one who had welcomed Raven to Earth and had given her a home and friends. Raven knew how fond Robin was of Starfire and realized that helping Starfire the same way Robin helped her Raven was the best payback she could give him. She knew Robin would truly appreciate every second Raven spent with Starfire, even if the things they were doing were of the most utter dislike for her. Raven owed it to Robin as he had been a great friend to her, especially when her father came and tried to take over the entire universe. She remembered the time they talked on the roof, days after Trigon had been defeated, when Robin confirmed to her what she already knew about the couple-to-be.

"_Robin, do you really think my father is gone?"_

"_I don't know but if he comes back we know how to defeat him."_

"_Robin, I…I want to thank you for everything you did for me. I will find a way to repay you. I really owe you big time. You have helped me so many times and I never have had the chance to do something for you."_

_Robin chuckled and placed a hand on Raven's shoulder._

"_When I do something for a friend I don't expect a payback. I do whatever it is that I can do because I care for all my friends and if I had to do it all over again and I wouldn't have second thoughts about it."_

"_But Robin, I don't feel comfortable. There must be something that I can do for you."_

"_You could wax my R-Cycle for a month if that makes you happy."  
"Are you serious?"_

_Robin smiled again and faced the sunset._

"_Of course I'm not, Raven!"_

"_Well?"_

_Robin took a moment to think about Raven's question. He never expected one of the Titans he helped to feel in debt with him. His job was to be a friend or hero and do what friends and heroes did. He did not do all these things to ask people for payback favors or for anything else. He did all these things because he wanted to and because he knew these were the right things to do._

"_Raven, in a way, you have already done your part so you don't need to do anything else."_

"_When? What did I do?"_

"_Well, I know how much you hate doing that girly stuff with Starfire but you still do it anyway."_

"_How does that even us out?"_

"_Raven, I know you know how I feel for Starfire. I know you can read my feelings and see how much she means to me. Sometimes, when I see Starfire sad because she feels alone in this world I wish I could, you know, paint my toenails, or put make up on or something; to make her smile again."_

"_Have you done them?"_

_Robin shook his head._

"_Nope, but I know you always end up doing these things with Starfire even if you don't like them. Whenever you put your dislike for these things aside to make Starfire feel better I feel thankful of having a friend like you. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't need to do anything for me. Seeing Starfire happy thanks to your **patience**," Robin chuckled, "is enough for you to _payback_ what I did for you."_

"_You know I could have disappeared BB into the dark world or could have read Starfire's mind and tell you what she thinks about you, but all you asked was for me to be friends with Starfire? I mean, I became her friend before you even told me this but…is this really the only thing that you want?"_

"_Well, you can…hook me up with Starfire."_

_Raven smirked at Robin's comment and Robin crossed his arms._

"_What? I am a nice guy! She can fall for me…eventually…maybe…someday."_

"_I never said she wouldn't…in fact…I never said she hasn't already."_

_Robin's smile got even brighter. Raven raised an eyebrow._

"_Don't tell me you didn't know!"_

"_Uhm…I think she's calling me…"_

_Raven rolled her eyes and Robin smirked._

"_Go, Robin. She's not calling you yet but she is thinking of doing it."_

"_**It**?"_

"_Call you, you pervert!"_

_Robin laughed. _

"_Thanks Raven."_

"_On the contrary, thank you Robin."_

_Robin waved at Raven and quickly left to find Starfire who, in fact, was looking for him. Raven stayed at the roof for a couple of more minutes, thanking whoever had sent such great people to her for doing so. "Someone must like me up there," Raven said and returned to the Tower._

Today, the Titans were spending the morning together. Raven was pretending to meditate on the back of the main room while BB and Cyborg cheered Robin up with a videogame of racing cars. It was obvious to all of them that he was having the most difficult time with Starfire not being with them anymore, but they also noticed that he tried to clear his mind of sad thoughts. Raven studied Robin's behavior while peeking over her book.

_"Robin has always been in love with Starfire,"_ Raven thought. _"I wonder how he is handling all this."_

Robin seemed to be enjoying the game but he was not all there. His hands seemed to have a mind of their own and instinctively pressed the buttons of the control at a very fast speed. It was as if Robin did not even need to think about what buttons to press or what strategies to use; it all came automatically to him at this point. She then looked at his face and felt even worse. Not even his mask could hide his heartache anymore. He was looking at the big screen but his eyes were lost in the void. Raven did not need to take Robin's mask off to realize that he felt his eyes tired of being open. She knew that if Robin could sleep through this entire time Starfire was not present and wake up if and only if she came back he would certainly do it, with not doubt in his heart.

The Titans had caught Robin daydreaming more than usual when he blankly stared at any random item in front of him. Whenever Robin thought about Starfire he would become deaf and _blind_. His view would get lost in the essence of time and he would just stand there as if frozen for what seemed like years. It was as if he was afraid of forgetting about Starfire and took the time to remember her entire body and features every minute of the day. His mind would go over her curves and her smile, and her voice would echo in his head. He was afraid of forgetting anything about her and hoped that if he thought about her enough, she would feel the same necessity of thinking about him.

1111111111111111111

The T-Com beeped at the middle of the night. Robin lazily searched for it on his bed until he found it. His eyes opened wide when he saw the name of the caller. It was Starfire. Starfire was trying to communicate with Robin.

"Robin, are you there? Can you hear me?"

Robin froze and struggled to utter the name of his one and only love.

"Star…fire?"

"It is me Robin. There is something I must tell you."

Robin could not believe it. He blinked several times and pinched himself while jumping out of his bed. Starfire was alive…and she had not forgotten about him. He could now convince her to come back!

"Star, are you ok? I…I have missed you so much!"

"Robin, listen to me please."

Starfire's voice was serious and unemotional. "_Did anything happen to her? Is she in danger?"_ Robin thought and his heart hurt.

"What is it? Did something happen to you? Did Slade…" Robin began but was not able to continue, fearing the worst had occurred.

"Robin, nothing has happened to me…I only called you…to tell you…that I am not going back to Earth, ever."

Robin felt his heart break into millions of little pieces. He swallowed hard.

"What?"

Silence. Robin tightened the grip on his communicator until Starfire finally spoke.

"I have found happiness _here_…Robin…I am _in love_ with another man."

Robin felt the air in his lungs suddenly disappear. He felt dizzy and wanted to gasp for air but the ache in his chest would not allow him. _"She is in love with someone else?"_

"I am sorry Robin. Please forgive me."

"Starfire…y-you promised me you would c-come back…y-you said t-that…you said that you loved _me_!"

"Indeed, but you promised me you would _never_ hurt me and you _did_. I had never loved anyone before and I truly believed that what I felt for you was love. I was wrong. I loved you but I was never _in-love_ with you."

"Starfire…no…please…don't…"

And the taste of salty water woke him up.

Robin opened his eyes and realized it had just been a dream, a very bad dream; a nightmare. He had been crying in his sleep and he had not noticed it until the taste of tears made its way down his cheek to his quivering lips. _"Starfire…"_

Robin sighed and dried his tears with the back of his hand and then rested it on his sweaty forehead. This had been the fifth night in a row that he have had dreams similar to this one where Starfire would tell him, one way or another, that she was not coming back to him because he was not _true _to her. He had believed his dreams to be true every single time and feared they would come true when he least expected. Defeated by the panic of this statement becoming a reality, Robin sat on the side of his bed, unwilling to go back to sleep anytime soon. _"What if these dreams are a sign? What if she's not coming back after all?" _

Robin's thumb found its way to his left ring finger and felt Starfire's goodbye gift. Robin played with the ring for a few seconds as he always did when he ached for Starfire's presence. She would come back, right? She promised, did she not? She had forgiven him before she left, did she not?

_"Did she?" _Robin did not know with certainty but he truly wished she had.

Robin sighed again and stood up from bed. He was barefoot and shirtless and only had a pair of pajama pants on. The pants were dark blue with yellow vertical lines all around them and were held to his waist by the elastic band inside them. Robin scratched his stomach and yawned. He wanted to go back to sleep but he did not want to have the nightmare again. _"I might as well find something to do."_

Robin remembered he had been working on his R-Cycle earlier on the week and decided to invest this night time in making some progress on his bike. Now that he thought about it, this was the perfect time to work on his vehicle without BB's pleadings of getting a moped again since the one Cyborg had built for him had an accident. The moped had fallen to its "death" from the Titans roof.

"_Still have no idea how the hell did **that** happen!"_

Robin walked outside his room and made his way to the living room. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water and continued his way to the elevator and eventually the garage. Robin decided to not turn all the lights on and settled to illuminate the garage with a flashlight that he placed on a table in front of his R-Cycle. He grabbed his toolbox and continued on where he had left of early this week.

He had spent an awful lot of time improving the velocity that the bike could achieve. He now had to worry about a good pair of breaks to slow him down on time to prevent another accident like the one he had with Rancid back in the day. Robin got down on his knees and began working on his bike, trying to erase all memories which pertained to Starfire. However, his mind betrayed him from the millionth time.

"_I wonder what time is it in Tamaran."_

Tamaran: the place where Starfire was from. Even though Robin tried not to think about her all the time, he was not able to allow a second go by without Starfire coming to his mind. _"That time we went to her planet it was dark…we didn't stay much so I really don't know if they ever get to see the sun."_

Robin sighed. The sun also reminded him of Starfire. Every sunrise and every sunset was a wonder of nature to her; a wonder of nature he enjoyed sharing with her. _"Maybe they don't have sunrises in Tamaran…but…Starfire's powers are similar to the ones of the sun…where does she get them, though?"_

Robin surprised himself as to how there were some things about her that he did not know about. He thought he knew everything about her but it was not true. Robin knew that there are some things people do not usually like to share with others. He knew this very well because he had plenty of secrets he did not tell anyone, not even her. However, now that he thought about it, he did not need to know anything else about her but only that he loved her and she loved him back.

"_I wish I could see her now."_

"_Why don't you die and see her everyday, all the day?"_

Robin gasped but recovered quickly. He looked behind his shoulder and saw his everyday companion standing on the hood of the T-Car.

"Cyborg's gonna kick your sorry ass if he sees you on his baby."

"I'm _standing_ on it; do you seriously think I care?"

Robin chuckled and continued working on his bike.

"What is it that you find so amusing, Robin?"

"It must be pretty lonely for you now that Starfire is out of your reach, right?"

"What makes you think I can't reach her?"

"The fact that you are always where I am."

Slade growled.

"Believe what you wish, I can still make her life miserable from the distance."

"Sure, whatever you say."

"On the other hand, what are you doing out here at this time? Good boys like you should be sleeping. That alien is probably having the time of her life while you are moping around for her. How pathetic of you!"

"Not this time around, Slade."

"What are you talking about?"

Robin left his tool on the floor and stood up, turning around to face Slade who was still standing on the hood of the T-Car.

"You were able to fool me once," Robin winced, "maybe twice…but no more. I won't let you play tricks on me anymore. You almost killed me once and almost killed Starfire too but I won't allow this to happen ever again. You are nothing but an _illusion_ and once I find where you come from I'll haunt your ass down and get rid of you once and for all."

"Ah! You are becoming wise, Robin. It seems the absence of the alien opened up your eyes…question is…what will you do when your _nightmares_ come true and she _never _comes back. Will you be so confident then?"

"Don't you get tired of the same games?"

"I don't get tired of telling you the truth."

"You have no idea what you're saying, why don't you go bug someone else?"

"Like that bitch?"

"Don't call her that!"

"Why not? What are you gonna do about it?"

"She already killed you for it…there isn't much I can do…"  
Robin smirked at Slade's growl.

"Do you think you can stop me? She didn't and you didn't either. I will never leave you alone. I will haunt you forever and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Just wait and see."

Robin began walking towards Slade but was stopped by the flashlight falling to the floor. Robin ran towards the twirling light and after picking it up he aimed the light to the place the noise had come from. Robin saw a pink ball roll in front of him before unrolling and hugging his foot.

"Silkie, I put you to bed hours ago…you know what Starfire will do to me if she finds out you didn't get your 15 hours of sleep? She'll kill me!"

Silkie replied by crawling Robin's leg and settling on his shoulder. Robin smiled. "Let's keep it a secret from her, k?"

_"Slade,"_ Robin then remembered what he had being doing before Silkie showed up. He aimed the flashlight to where Slade had been standing but he was already gone. Robin walked towards the T-Car and inspected it for any damage but he found none. _"He was never really here…I must find the source of this illusion and get rid of it before Starfire comes back. I don't want her to leave again."_

Robin looked at Silkie who was now asleep on his shoulder and decided to call it quits for tonight. He put his tools back in his box and cleaned the mess he had done before heading for the elevator. Once there, he pressed the button to arrive at the living room and threw the empty bottle of water on the trash can before heading to his room.

"_I need a shower."_

Robin arrived to his room and placed Silkie on his bed. He had not liked the idea of having Silkie around when they first met, especially after he had eaten half of the Tower. However, it broke his heart seeing how Starfire suffered when he told her to get rid of him and when she thought Silkie had died. Now that she was not here, Silkie had become Robin's responsibility. He remembered BB had told him he would take care of him as he had done before they even knew Silkie existed but Robin refused.

"_It's ok Beast Boy; I'll take care of Silkie until she comes back."_

"_But Robin, you already have many things to think about…I'm just trying to…you know…help."_

"_Don't worry about it…how hard can it be?"_

Boy, oh boy! Was he wrong! Robin had struggled the first two weeks to get to know what Silkie wanted. Starfire knew by now when was Silkie's time to eat, bathe, sleep and play but _he_ had no clue whatsoever. Getting Silkie to eat was another issue. Robin did not know what to feed Silkie and the only thing he did not know was what _not _to feed him and this did not help much. Robin sighed.

"Well, little fellow…as long as you are here Starfire has a reason to come back, right?"

Silkie was fast asleep. Robin grabbed clean clothes and headed for the shower and before he knew it, he had returned to his room and had fallen into a sleep deeper than the one Silkie was in, his last images were of Starfire sitting next to him on his bed.

1111111111111111111

The first rays of sunlight slowly traveled from the floor to his bed, and then to his face. Robin opened one eye and cursed at the open curtain.

"_I don't remember opening it last night."_

He closed his eye and yawned. Every morning was the same dilemma for him. To get up or not to get up, that was the question. On one hand, he had had plenty of time to work on his R-Cycle and every other item in the Tower that needed repairing. He did not know there were so many new ways to improve the security at the Tower and he had made sure to use them all up. On the other hand, getting up would mean going to the kitchen and not be able to see Starfire make breakfast for everyone. It also meant walking by to her door and getting the ache to go inside. Getting up meant remembering she was not there with him anymore.

_"Maybe I can stay here all day and no one will notice."_ Robin though but knew it was not true. For some reason, the Titans would only give him until noon before busting his door open and dragging him out of bed. The last time he had decided to stay in bed for the entire day, Cyborg had blown up his door with his sonic cannon.

"_What the **hell** are you doing?"_

_Cyborg crossed his arms and his eye twitched._

"_I was making sure you were still alive, man. Raven came by earlier and knocked and you didn't answer. BB then came and the same thing happened. What was I supposed to do?"_

"_Let me sleep for the rest of the day, perhaps?"_

"_And allow you to miss the premiere of Mega Monkeys: The Movie? You've gotta be kiddin' me!"_

A smile appeared on Robin's face. He could always count on his friends. No matter how down he felt they would always bring him back up. He was grateful for this, he owed them big time. However, after his dream last night and his encounter with Slade in the garage, he did not feel like being dragged out of his pain. Today he wanted to be alone and allow his mind to remember her without interruptions. Today he wanted to see her in his dreams.

"_Was it really a dream?" _Robin wondered. He did not want to confirm whether or not his communicator had received a call from Starfire but he had to make sure.

"_If she really called to say goodbye I'll go to her planet and bring her ass back here. That other guy better be prepared for a fight!"_

Robin extended his arm and reached for his communicator. He slowly opened it and sighed in relief when he saw that there were none missed calls and the recently received calls did not belong to Starfire. It had all been a horrible nightmare. She had not called to say hello, but at least she had not called to say goodbye either.

"_I wonder if she made it alive to Tamaran,"_ Robin thought, _"even if she didn't want me to follow her, I would have liked to know that she made it safely to her planet."_

Robin tightened the grip on the communicator. _"I wish she had taken her communicator with her. I wish she would call me back."_ Robin closed his eyes and sighed. Yes, he definitely wished to be left alone today.

"_I wonder what Starfire is doing now?"_ Robin turned on his bed to his side and stared at the open curtain. _"Maybe this is a test. Maybe I'm supposed to get her back to prove that I have changed…what if I mess this test up?" _Robin sighed. _"I miss her so much,"_ he played with his ring. _"But I can't go look for her. She told me to wait and I'll wait as long as she needs."_

Robin lay on his back and felt a lump next to his left hip. _"What the…?"_

Robin sat on his bed and lifted the covers to see what he had laid on…it was Silkie. _"Crap, I almost squashed him!"_ Robin carefully carried Silkie to the pillow at the top of his bed and placed him there. "If I squashed you, Starfire would hate me forever!"

At the sound of Robin's voice, Silkie's eyes twitched and a small cry came from his lips. Silkie was waking up and threatened to cry about it. _"Shit!" _Robin carried Silkie, embraced him and rocked him while humming a non-melodic lullaby. _"Don't wake up! Don't cry! Don't cry!"_ Last time Robin had been careless enough to wake Silkie at this early hours of the morning, Silkie had cried for hours and had only resumed his sleep when Robin twirled him around for half an hour. Right after that, Robin spent several minutes in the restroom throwing up his twirled stomach.

"Not doing it again!" Robin whispered. Luckily for him, Silkie's eyelids became calm and his breathing evened out. Robin sighed in relief. No twirling today. He returned Silkie to his little bed on the corner of his room and then returned to his own bed and continued his reminisce. _"Maybe J knows a way to communicate with her,"_ Robin's stomach flipped. He still held resentment against the doctor who had only helped her out. Truth was that Robin hated the fact that a stranger had been able to help his girl more than Robin ever could.

_"Raven was right…I sometimes suck as a boyfriend…Raven."_ Robin had noticed that Raven's attitude towards him had changed since she acknowledged Starfire's absence. It was as if Raven felt somewhat responsible for her decision and felt sorry for Robin's situation. Robin did not blame her for feeling sorry for him.

"_Bah! I even feel sorry for myself!"_ Robin thought._ "Only an idiot would mess up the opportunity to have a smart, gorgeous, gentle, strong…lovely…girl…woman…"_

Starfire was no girl anymore, especially after the events of the night before she left. She had been so determined, so sure that it was time. She had no doubt in her heart that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Robin, and even though he was happy for this, his heart ached at the mere possibility of not giving Starfire what she deserved. _"She deserves the best…I can give her the best….right? What if her expectations are too high and I don't deliver? What if I am not the man for her? The man…"_

Robin had not come to realize that he was not a child anymore. Sure, he was still a teenager but with everything life had thrown to him, he had matured faster than a regular teenager would. He had been close to death. He had worked for a criminal and had acted as a criminal as well. He had betrayed his friends and had been betrayed by his comrades. He had been turned old by his enemies. He had been physically hurt so many times that he had lost count already. He had lost his parents at a very young age. But most of all, he had helped save the world countless times, yet the only thing that made him feel even more proud was the fact that he had fallen in love and he had been loved back.

_"I need to see her," _Robin felt the great urge to get his butt in the T-Ship and travel to Tamaran. _"Why is life so hard sometimes? Why can we just live happy…together?"_ All that Robin had wanted was to tell Starfire how he felt. He hid his feelings for her for the longest time and even though they were not an official couple, things were not as bad as they were now between them. All their suffering…_her_ suffering had begun when he had expressed his feelings for her. It was his entire fault. He had cursed her with his love. He had been the cause of her suffering. Maybe he should let it go and tell her to stay in her planet where no one could hurt her; a place where she could be happy: a happiness that she would not find here on Earth with him.

"No!" Robin whispered.

He stood up from bed and sat on the edge of it. He stared blankly at the floor while similar thoughts of her staying in Tamaran echoed in his mind_. "I need to see her. I need to see her so very bad. I miss her so much,"_ Robin repeated himself. He had to do something about this pain; the pain that had been building up in his heart. He had not appreciated what he had with her when he did. Was it too late for them? Were Starfire's true intentions to stay in Tamaran all along?

"_I'll go to Tamaran…I'll go to Tamaran and will find her!"_ Robin told himself. There was no reason for him to stay here without her. He was hers and he hoped she was his. After all this time, all the mishaps and all the tears and blood someone had to give in. However, he was not going to allow her to give up on them. He was sure as heck not giving up on them, he would not let her go: not again.

His mind was made up. His heart screamed to get going and find her, wherever she was. He had the time and the tools to do it. He had the urge to do it.

_He had every reason to do it._

What was stopping him then? What was stopping him from adventuring into the wide outer space to find that small planet where she was at? Was it doubt? No. Was it lack of love? Not even close. Was it…fear? Perhaps…

Fear. Was it not always the reason for him to hold back? Fear of rejection; fear of the unknown: fear of himself. Yet, this time, fear grew inside him for other reasons. This time, he feared HIM. Not himself, or Starfire, or the rest of the Titans. He feared the ghost in the house. He feared the darkness in the white room. He feared the master of lies. He feared who he never thought he would ever fear. He feared Slade and what he could do…to her.

Robin sighed in resignation. After all, everything came down to her and her safety. The safety of the woman he loved.

"_I won't go to Tamaran…it isn't worth it."_

"_Don't you miss her?"_ His heart inquired. _"Of course I miss her and I wish I knew she was ok but I don't know how Slade moves. I can't risk it; I can't allow Slade to find her. I know he hasn't been able to find her and that's the way I want it to be."_

His heart silenced. What else could be said? Sure, he loved Starfire to death but that did not mean he would put her in unnecessary danger. He had enough guilt when she got hurt in battle, why put her in the verge of death by guiding a serial killer to her current location?

_"Dammit it all! Why do I feel there is something wrong?"_ the not knowing was killing him; not only him but everyone else in the Tower. Something had to be done. Something had to be done to find out if she was still alive and breathing. He just had to know.

Robin sighed and extended his left arm to behind him, reaching for his communicator. He closed his eyes while holding tight to his communicator; the urge of looking for her pouring like sweat out of him. He slowly opened his eyes and carefully, and almost instinctively, lifted the screen of the communicator. He was going to do it, he was going to break his promise and attempt to communicate with her.

_"Can she really blame me for worrying?"_ Robin asked himself while he pressed the GPS function of the device. The device listed the names of the Titans. He stared at the list for a couple of seconds before his shaking thumb stopped over her name.

"Just one press, that's all it takes."

His eyes wandered around the room looking for the familiar stalker. There was no sign of him. His eyes then drifted to the clock. It was close to noon; close to the time his friends would come and drag him out of bed. _"Come on Robin, just do it!"_

Robin closed his eyes and pressed the option. He refused to open his eyes until the device beeped, prompting for a distance and location ranges. Without thinking he pressed the Tower…and the communicator beeped. Robin's heart skipped a beat, or two.

"She is here?" Robin asked himself in disbelief. It could not be true. She could not be at the Tower without him knowing. This had to be a mistake. Robin's eyes shifted to the location of the communicator. It was located in his own room.

"WHAT!" Robin frantically searched for her with his eyes. _"Has she been here all this time?"_ Robin whished this was true but how could it? His eyes were caught by an object in particular.

"_The window…did **she** leave it open? Was she here?"_ No. This location had to be wrong. He shrunk the range of location and soon found out his stupid and careless mistake. He had pressed "Robin" instead of "Starfire."

"_Me, my stupid closed eyes and my Alzheimer's pulse!" _Robin's disgust with his own carelessness was quickly replaced with anxiety. He had a second chance. Or was this a sign that he should let bygones be bygones and go on with his life?

"_How can I? Starfire is the reason I live for? The reason I fight for her…so she doesn't have to worry and fight. So she can live a long and happy life…with me."_ Robin thought with a hint of remorse in his heart. Had he really done this in the last year? He knew the answer to this question. Odds were not on his favor.

Robin tried again. He returned to the main list and without any second thought and with his eyes open this time, he pressed on Starfire's name and entered the range for searching. The communicator beeped in response. The location was the Tower again.

"_What the hell? Don't tell me she left her communicator here! Argh, Starfire!" _

Robin cursed loudly while standing up and kicking his bed. A low cry was heard. _"Damn it, Silkie is still asleep!"_ Robin slowly turned his head back to where Silkie rested. He flinched a little and turned over to his other side but fortunate for Robin, he did not wake up.

"_I can't believe she left it here again! How the hell am I supposed to find her, then?"_ Robin sighed and returned to his bed, this time completely laying on his back and extending his arms beside him, still holding then open communicator in his left hand. He closed his eyes and felt the fear and anxiety that had build up in the last minutes slowly disappearing. This was it: he had no way of reaching her. It was official, sadly.

Then, when all hope seemed to be lost, the communicator beeped again. Robin frowned, wondering why the communicator had beeped again. He was sure he had not pressed anything else. The location screen should have disappeared a few second ago. He yawned and slowly lifted his arm and put the screen on his face.

The display was similar to all his previous searches. The map displayed the cardinal points; the location of the person searching and the person that was being searched. The black background with green lines was adorned with white letters which displayed several amounts of information. The top part of the screen had the distance between the two people, and the time of travel to get from point A to point B. The name of the searcher appeared on the bottom left corner while the name of the searched appeared on the bottom right corner. The "cancel search" button on the middle would also display. Yet, this time the search results were different.

Usually the search would end after the found location had been read and ignored for several seconds. However, something was not right because this time the screen had not cleared. Robin paid special attention to his device. There was a new option on the screen. The option read "Display next location."

Robin gasped. He blinked several times, making sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him. He was soon to find out that they were not: there was a second location for Starfire's whereabouts.

Robin pressed the "Next" option and a second map appeared. The display was quite alike to the previous one. The only difference was that location for Starfire was somewhere near: Somewhere in Jump City. Robin jumped from his bed.

"Starfire IS here!" so many question attacked Robin's mind. When did she return? Why did she not tell him? Was she hiding with the doctor? Did she actually never leave the city? The planet? Did the other Titans know about this? Was this the reason they seemed somewhat calmed about her trip?

Robin felt a little bit of anger towards the possible answers for these questions. Nonetheless, his feelings of anger were soon crashed by a new set of questions; questions that raised fear in him.

What if Slade had found a way to get to her before she returned? What if the location was Starfire's death place? What if she had never made it out of Earth alive? Why did anyone not tell the authorities? What if they did but her body was unrecognizable for whatever reason? What if she was…dead…for real this time?

Robin growled, not caring if Silkie woke up this time. He had to investigate this new situation. He had to go to this place and find out the reason Starfire's communicator was giving out signals from there. He had to find answers for this; otherwise he would not be able to sleep or do anything else until he was aware of the reason for this. There was a Titan communicator out there in Jump City. The radar said it belonged to Starfire and he feared the veracity of this statement. There were not many communicators out there. It was not like Robin to give out a Titan communicator to a random person on the street.

Robin dressed himself up in his usual outfit and before he knew it, he was getting outside his room and headed for the main room.

The rest of the Titans were eating lunch, deciding whose turn it was to wake Robin up. Little did they know this action was not going to be necessary today, not after what Robin had discovered. The door was opened and Robin ran across the living room, aiming for the elevator that would take him to the garage and eventually outside the Tower.

The Titans turned to see him and frowned. He had not even said hello. He had not even seen them there; his mind was focused on finding the source of the Starfire's signal. If she was out there he was going to find her and bring her back to the Tower even if it meant sedating her with one of his many handy-dandy tools.

"Robin…where the crap are you goin'?" Cyborg asked. Robin kept walking towards the elevator and pressed the open button. The elevator's doors opened and before he went inside he looked behind him from his shoulder and extended his hand, making a gesture to them of not being in the mood of giving explanations.

"Don't follow," Robin said before pressing the button that would take him to the garage. The door was shut and the Titans looked at each other while Robin's phrase repeated in their minds.

"He seems to be saying that a lot lately, don't you think?" BB asked. Raven rolled her eyes and Cyborg shrugged. This time they would find out what he was up to as soon as he came back. Hopefully this time he did not go kick the doctor's ass again. Hopefully, this time, Robin just needed fresh air.

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**A/N:** I just HAD to put the communicator thing there. I saw it, it screamed to be put and I listened. If you guys have seen the fifth season you know what am I talking about. I'll be getting a break from school very soon. I want to finish the fiction before this year is over. I hope I can accomplish this. Thanks for reading. New chapters to come sooner than you think!


	12. Ache of the Soul

**A/N: **It may not cause cavities but you may want to read it with a handkerchief on hand.

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**Chapter 11**

Ache of the Soul

The Castle of the Grand Ruler of Tamaran had been cleaned and polished for the special occasion tonight. There was an engagement to celebrate and the Castle had to look its best. The everyday curtains had been taken down and had been replaced with fancy dark blue royal curtains that were rarely used. The old carpets had also been replaced and new gold carpets had been placed on the floor. The soldiers had to polish their silver armors to meet the significance of the celebration and their swords had been sent to sharpen as well.

All the servants had to wear the new uniform for this special night and those who did not have one would have to serve in the kitchen, away from the eyes of the Royal visitors who had come to celebrate the future wedding. Elegant flowers and rare plants adorned the entrance of the castle and gave the scene a natural ambient, "It is used on Earth in occasions such as these," Starfire had told Galfore, grateful for all she had learned on Earth.

Galfore wanted the Engagement Ball to be has classy as possible to delight the bride-to-be. He never believed the castle would look so different and Royalty-like if it were not for Starfire's Earthling custom designs and ideas. The entire planning had taken an entire month while the actual preparations had taken two weeks. The finishing touches of furniture arrangement and the sort were made in the first week while the cooking took place in the second week.

The current Royal family and the future Royal family had also gone through the meticulous task of getting new clothing for the Ball. Galfore had suffered the most while the princess enjoyed the distraction from her suffering from the past.

Small candle lights illuminated the castle and guests arrived in huge amounts by the minute. An Engagement such as this had to be celebrated and told to the most important planets close to Tamaran and those who had political and business relations with it as well. The hosts looked as charming as ever. Galfore wearing an Earth-like tuxedo –made with Starfire's instructions; and the princess wearing a pale pink dress.

"You shall get everyone's attention Galfore; please, you must wear these garments, yes?" Galfore could not deny anything to her princess, especially if it made her happier than she had been in a long time. He still did not know what had transpired on Earth or why her friends had not come to visit her, but he knew that whenever Starfire was ready to talk he would be there to listen. Meanwhile, his only job was to make Starfire as happy as she could be, NOW.

"I may acquire _some _attention, but it will soon be taken from me when they look at the beauty next to me, my little _bumgorph_," Galfore had said, and he was right. She was wearing a long strapless pale pink dress. The transparent pink fabric on top of it made it shimmer in such a way that allowed Starfire to lit up the place she were in. Her now mature body was carefully but discretely revealed and her curves were marked by the tightened sides of the dress. One of her long legs could be seen through the high cut on the left side of her dress when she walked and her strapped high heels enticed her entire figure all the way even more.

Her hair was a little bit shorter than before and the top part of it was held by a diamond tiara to represent her royal status; not that it needed to be re-stated but it was required for circumstances like these. She wore long white gloves that reached her forearms. Finally, her chest was adorned by a heart-shaped diamond held by a silver necklace with small diamonds on the sides of where the large diamond was at.

Starfire had been the soul of the Ball. The visitors were enchanted with her presence, her personality and her smile. She was everything a princess could be: she was smart, polite, beautiful, charming and yet so very strong and determined, as some _clever_ visitors had come to realize after their witty or dumb comments about her. "You shall watch your mouth when speaking to the Princess of Tamaran if you wish to keep your tongue," Starfire had told to one of the visitors who made a somewhat profaned comment about Starfire's outfit.

Starfire now sat the top of the ballroom's stairs, watching the crowd dance and talk among each other. Galfore saw her there looking sad, and arrived next to her at no time. He stood there without speaking a word, also enjoying the show of the bad dancers for while. Once he began feeling uncomfortable about the silence and Starfire's lost stare, he finally spoke. "Is there something the matter, Koriand'r?" Starfire shook her head without looking at him.

"You now, even though you had your own celebration a long time ago, this is still your party too; you should enjoy it as it is also."

Starfire remembered what Galfore had just mentioned. She did remember; she remembered quite well. Three Earth months ago a great ball had been thrown in her honor. The Grand Ruler of Tamaran, along with the rest of the Tamareans, had gathered to celebrate the princess' surprise return to her home planet. Galfore had been the most surprised of them all since the last time she visited them, he had understood that Starfire's intentions were not of returning anytime soon, let alone to return by herself.

Galfore had believed that her friends, especially the leader of the Titans, were extremely fond of her little _bumgorph_,and that she had bonded with them as well. He still remembered the day she arrived to Tamaran three months ago. She was filthy and seemed to not have been able to sleep in days, maybe even weeks. Later on he found out she had flown all the way from Earth to Tamaran without stopping for food, water or rest. She had arrived at the balcony of the Castle while Galfore relaxed, looking at the stars.

"Galfore!" Starfire was able to say before she passed out on her worried _kenorfka's_ arms. Galfore carried her to her dwelling and made sure the female servants took care of her and informed him of her health as soon as the doctor checked up on her. He also commanded to keep her return a secret, for he first wanted to know the reason of her visit and for her degrading condition.

Later on that day of her arrival, Galfore had been acknowledged of Starfire's awakening and had been quick on meeting up with her. She had been bathed, feed, and was wearing a royal nightgown when he arrived. He entered her room and ordered the servants to leave, not without first thanking them greatly. Anyone who helped his princess deserved Galfore's eternal gratitude. Galfore walked to her bed and sat on the edge of it. Starfire sat on her bed and looked at Galfore with tear-filled eyes.

"What happened to you Koriand'r? What do I owe your unexpected visit to?" Starfire looked at the floor, trying to contain her tears. Robin appeared in her mind, his last words, his last actions…the last night. All his actions were engraved on her memory and knowing what she had done to him and to herself brought tears to her eyes. She was free from the ghost's grasp. She had managed to escape her fears. The cost had been too high but she was willing to pay it for his and her own sakes.

Starfire jumped from her side of the bed onto Galfore and hugged him like there was no tomorrow. How much she missed her _kenorfka_. She cried and sobbed on Galfore's shoulder and all that Galfore could do was to pat her back and whisper words of comfort. He did not know how long she had been holding these feelings of sorrow in her heart but he knew she had to let them run free, at least this once.

She continued to sob but the worst crying stopped. She pushed herself away from Galfore and smiled a genuine smile. A smile filled with gratitude and hope that he had never seen on her in years. The last time she had seen this smile was when Starfire learned her parents had died and that Galfore would be taking her care from that moment on. It was as if she had received a very bad notice and then a very good one. Sadness and happiness both existed in her heart and in her eyes and soul at the moment. Starfire realized that Galfore was still awaiting her response but she was not ready to reveal her calvary on Earth to him so soon. She closed her eyes for a few seconds while shaking her head. "Let us talk about you, Galfore. Have you missed me at all?"

And that was how their conversation had started. Galfore told her about his engagement with one of the former servants of the Castle. She had helped Starfire, Blackfire and Galfore escape when the castle was attacked a long time ago. He believed she had died but came back again after many, many years and after some more years of catching up, Galfore asked her to marry him. Right about the time Galfore had ordered to locate Earth to send Starfire's the good news, she arrived at the balcony of the castle without previous announcement.

Starfire had told Galfore she was staying on Tamaran for undetermined time but she assured him it would be a long time. Galfore had insisted on knowing what had occurred to her but she always changed the subject. He had let go of the topic when he saw she was not going to provide any information on her own and he would have to wait for when she was ready.

Starfire continued to look at the dancing crowd and then directed her eyes at her sparkling heels. "My friends took me to a dance, an Earth dance, for my birthday." Galfore smirked and raised an eyebrow. Perhaps the time to talk was now.

"Ah! I see, was it any similar to this Royal Ball?" Galfore asked. Starfire shook her head. "Not at all; the place was much smaller and the people were not wearing gowns and crowns. The music was rather different as well." Galfore brought a chair and sat next to Starfire, hoping for her to provide more information and eventually tell him what was wrong with her. "Did you dance with anyone in particular?"

Starfire blushed. She had danced with someone in particular and she remembered who it was. She remembered it damned clear. "I did not know how to dance but Robin tried to teach me. He is very good at it."

Galfore stayed quiet for while. He did not know how much he could dig but he was going to try to gather as much information as he could. He had nothing to lose and the worst that could happen would be for Starfire to change the topic. "How is he doing, by the way? He seemed like such a good friend to you. I like him, he is tough young boy." Starfire nodded and sighed deeply.

"He…Robin is doing well. All of my friends are. We had some _unique_ missions lately but it has been taken care of. Nothing we cannot handle on our own."

"Is that so? Did your friends decide to take a vacation?"

Starfire bit her lip. How could she tell Galfore everything that had happened? She did not want Galfore to suffer her misery but she had come here for a reason. She had been right; Slade was gone as soon as she arrived to Tamaran. It was all a trick of her mind, she was not crazy and she was not imagining things anymore. The evil that haunted her every night was still on Earth, probably haunting Robin. She now knew not to be afraid of it. She now had to figure out the source of this evil and free Robin from it as well.

"Robin offered me some vacations. I told him about wanting to come here and visit and he agreed."

"Why did yo not bring him along? I am sure he would get a better look of the planet this time around."

Starfire hesitated a little. Lying had been always difficult for her, but to lie to her beloved caregiver was even worse. "He cannot abandon Earth for long and I wanted to stay for a long time. Besides, I can always bring them the next time I return here."

"You plan to stay long?"

"Indeed."

"How long do you wish to stay?"

"As long as it is required to solve a mystery," Starfire said, gasped and then clasped her mouth with her hand. Galfore arched an eyebrow and gave an intrigued smile. "What is this mystery of which you speak?"

Starfire bit her lip again. Was it time to say it all? Could Galfore ever understand without blaming her friends, Robin, and her? Even though Galfore was not one to hold a grudge, the only way to find out was to tell him straight up.

"Why do you not spare a long night for this old friend of yours and I shall explain all that occurred to me on Earth in the past years?" Galfore smiled and nodded. "Very well, princess. As soon as the celebration is over and the last guest is gone, you and I shall have a long private talk."

"Can you add zorkaberries to that?"

"I do not see any reason why not."

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As promised by Galfore, as soon as the last soul of the party had departed and the palace was left as clean as before, he and Starfire had arrived at her room with a bowl of zorkaberries to have while they had their talk. Galfore never imagined the things her princess had gone through and even though it hurt him to listen to them, it hurt him the most that she had to experience them first hand.

Starfire had told Galfore everything that happened in the last two years. Since the day Red X appeared in their lives until the night she left Earth. She had tried to give as much detail as possible and had been strong enough to allow only some small tears to escape her eyes. Galfore had been quick to comfort her and give her enough encouragement to continue with her story.

"…and that is when I arrived here and found you on the balcony that night." Starfire said and sighed deeply. Galfore had an unreadable face and stared blankly at the floor. He could not believe the life his little princess had lived in the past couple of years. He did not know what she had done to deserve it; he did not even believe any of the Titans deserve it. All he could do was to be thankful that X'hal had allowed him to see Starfire once more.

"I…I am so sorry Koriand'r. I wish I had been able to be there with you, child. Such horrible things…I cannot fathom how little ones like yourself are allowed to experience such pain like that." Galfore said and held Starfire's back. She hugged him by his left side and nodded.

"I do not understand either. Truth is, I do not think there is a need or purpose to understand the reasons why. The only thing that matters now is that I now know there was never anything wrong with me after all. I can now help my friends, I can now save Robin."

Galfore nodded and shifted positions so he could face Starfire.

"It is true what you say; however, if it was all a trick, how come only Robin and you were able to see this evil man? Were the others truly not able to see him?"

Starfire shook her head. Raven knew about the existence of Slade. In fact, Raven had confirmed Starfire's suspicions that Robin was also able to see Slade. Yet neither Raven nor Beast Boy, nor Cyborg ever got to see him. Hell! Not even the security cameras at the Tower recorded him when he tried to kill her that night the Titans were out on a mission.

"That is a mystery to me as well. Dr Jones was not able to see him either, even when he was sitting right in front of him."

"Perhaps his target was neither your friends or the doctor but Robin and you only."

"That I do believe. Yet, I do not know of any _living_ enemy that would want to take revenge on us."

"Starfire, you shall recall very well that truces are not forever. Conceivably, one of these enemies you helped in the past has gotten over his gratefulness and has decided to go back to his old self. How about this Red X you spoke of? Are you sure that he indeed perish that night?"

Starfire was shocked to hear Galfore's suggestion. She had not even considered Red X to be behind any of this. Not only was he dead but he had died with their safety as his cause. He did want, at some point, to separate Robin and Starfire but that had been an action of the past. He had proved that he had redeemed himself and that he had learned from his mistakes.

"I am positive that he perished. There was nothing left of him but dust and his uniform. I had him on my arms when the wind took the last essence of his existence from us. He was sick and had no way of curing himself. He cannot be brought back either. He is gone."

"Maybe, maybe not. Have you considered that this Slade may have very well survived? If he had the technology to create Red X, what makes you believe he did not have the capabilities of creating a second or even a third one?"

Starfire froze. Galfore was right. Slade was an evil man. He also was very clever. Even though Slade had been fatally hurt, neither of them had stayed behind to see him die. They knew the fire and the explosion which followed had been too great for even Slade himself to overcome. However, she also knew that Slade had survived greater dangers before and he had walked to the bottom of hell to regain what was _rightfully_ his. If he had done it once, there was no doubt he would do it once more.

"I had not thought of that before. I guess it sounds very unlikely for it to take place…yet, in my life, the very unlikely is _highly_ likely to occur."

"What is it that you wish to do then?" Galfore asked. To be honest, Starfire had no clue whatsoever of what step to take next. She knew she had to find a way to cure Robin but bringing him to Tamaran for eternity and abandon their life on Earth was not an option. Robin's life was on Earth and she had made Earth her home. Besides, the Teen Titans did not run away from a fight, ever.

"I am yet to figure it out. In the meantime, I wish to stay here a little more time. There is a wedding to plan, remember?"

Galfore blushed and cleared his throat. Starfire giggled.

"Yes, of course. I will remember this favor when it is my time to plan your wedding, princess."

It was Galfore's turn to laugh and Starfire's turn to blush.

"I do not believe you will be planning my wedding anytime soon. Robin and I are still young and we have not talked about a wedding. At least not in those exact terms…"

Galfore patted Starfire's head and she smiled at him. Starfire yawned.

"It is time to sleep, Koriand'r. I myself am feeling tired as well. I am grateful for your assistance on planning this Ball. Kal'n and I are both eternally grateful for it."

Starfire smiled and nodded before yawning again and waving goodbye at Galfore who was making his way out of her room. Once the door was closed, Starfire proceeded to get comfortable in her nightgown. She felt relieved of having told Galfore the truth. She was happy that Galfore was happy and even though there were still situations to take care of, she felt a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"_Now if only I was able to see Robin tonight."_

Starfire sighed. Regardless of how busy she had been since she arrived to Tamaran and how well she had been sleeping, she still thought about Robin every minute of the day. There was always something that reminded her of him, of his smile, of his eyes and his touch. She was frightened of what she could find in her return. There was no way she could contact him or any of the team to know how he had taken her decision to leave.

"He is probably still mad at me," Starfire whispered. She walked to her bed and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. _"I wonder if he ever thinks of me. Will he judge me when I return? Will he understand the reasons of my departure? Robin, do you still love me as you did before I left?"_

Starfire turned to her side and put an arm under her head. She had so many things to tell him and she was sure he had many things to tell her as well. _"How will he welcome me? Will he even want to talk to me? Who is taking care of my Silkie?"_

She extended her left arm and a shimmer caught her attention. She looked at the ring Robin had given to her. He had promised he would change. He had promised to spend the rest of his life together, and she had promised she would return safely to him. _"I wonder if Robin and I would ever get married. Will we be as happy as Galfore and Kal'n are? Will we ever have peace?"_

Starfire closed her eyes and sighed. She was extremely tired and she was having trouble staying awake. Part of her wanted to let go and sleep but the other wanted to stay awake for a little longer and remember.

"_If only I could see your face for a moment…"_ Starfire whispered before falling into a deep sleep.

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_Starfire sat on the edge of the balcony in her room. The lights of her dwelling were off and the only visible lighting came from the stars above. Her feet were bare and hung from the outer side of the balcony fence. The wind was chilly and her nightgown was not thick enough to prevent her from shivering when a cold breeze surrounded her. _

"_What have I told you about being outside your room, sitting on the edge of a balcony on a cold night like this, Star?" came the known voice from behind her. Her heart skipped a beat and she gasped. Was she hearing things? Was it possible that he was here, behind her? She sighed deeply and slowly turned back._

_She had not heard things, he was truly there. X'hal had heard her prayers and had granted her wish. "R-Robin…"_

_Robin smiled. He was resting his back on the wall and had his arms crossed. He smiled even brighter when he saw Starfire giving him a warm smile. _

_He began walking towards her and she began walking towards him as well. They met halfway their paths and looked into each other's eyes without saying anything. Another cold breeze made appearance and made Starfire hug herself. Robin took notice of this and took his cape off and placed it around her. Starfire held his cape closer, and took a deep breath to inhale his essence. How she had missed Robin's smell._

_Robin smiled and, without further a due, pulled Starfire into his embrace. Starfire was slow to react but as soon as she did, her arms surrounded his back as well. She placed her ear on his chest and relaxed at the sound of his even heart beat. Robin held her tighter. _

"_Robin, is this true? Are you really here with me?" Starfire asked. Robin rested his chin on her head and shrugged. "I don't know Starfire but I don think it matters now. I don't remember coming to Tamaran and I don't think you remember bringing me in one of your pockets but all that matters is that we are both here. You have no idea how much I have missed you Star."_

_Starfire lifted her head and faced Robin. His face was sad and so was hers. She felt guilty about leaving him but at the time she had no other choice. He could not truly blame her for it, could he?_

"_I have missed you as well. I have prayed every night for you to forgive me for leaving. Robin, do you hate me for it?" Starfire asked. Robin chuckled. Starfire shivered again, victim of the declining temperature and Robin sighed. He carried Starfire in his arms and took her inside her room. He sat on the floor resting his back on Starfire's bed. He placed Starfire on his lap. He put his right arm behind her back and the other arm rested on her right tight, preventing her from falling to the cold floor. She held onto his cape and placed her head on his shoulder._

"_I am so sorry, Robin. I did not have the courage to say goodbye to you. I would have not been able to say goodbye, this is why I left overnight. Can you forgive me?"_

"_Don't be silly, Starfire. You did what you had to do. If you had waited for me to wake up I would have tied myself to your leg and you would have had to drag me here with you."_

_Starfire giggled. That was a funny mental image. She placed her right hand on his neck and stoked it slowly._

"_Robin, have you thought about what will happen to us when I return? Are you afraid of what might happen?"_

_Robin did not say anything for a moment, giving thought to her question. It was true that once she returned to Earth they would not have time to be like this. They would have to put all their time and effort on finding the source of the Slade visions and God knew how long this would take to figure out._

"_I don't know what will happen, Starfire. What I do know is that whatever happens, I will still love you and will still be waiting for you. Even if it takes 50 years for us to finally have some peace and quiet, you can be sure that it will be my hand you'll be holding every step of the way."_

_Starfire held Robin closer and allowed a few tears to escape her eyes. Even if this was a dream, even if tomorrow she would be back to be alone in Tamaran and Robin would be back on Earth, this moment felt real. In her heart, Robin's presence was real and his words were the absolute truth. Little did she know that Robin's mind also believed this dream to be true and his heart believed she really was there with him._

"_What have you done while I have been absent?"_

"_Well, besides mop around the Tower for you, I have been updating the Tower, the R-Cycle, I've been taken care of Silkie and — "Robin stopped when Starfire interrupted him mid-sentence. "Wait a moment; **you** have been taking care of Silkie? How is this possible?"_

_Robin smirked when Starfire gave him a non-believing stare. "Beast Boy wanted to take care of him but I told him I would do it. Aren't you proud of me, woman? There have been several times I have had to sing to the little guy to sleep. You know how hard that is?"_

_Starfire laughed. "What's so funny? It is true!"_

_Starfire laughed some more. Robin raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me Robin," Starfire said in between chuckles, "it is just that Silkie does not need lullabies to sleep. A bottle of hot milk is all it takes to put him to sleep. He has tricked you, oh, great one!"_

_Robin gapped and Starfire laughed even more at his expression. Robin eventually laughed as well until tears appeared on the sides of their eyes. _

"_I do not recall laughing this much in such a long time," Starfire said. "Me neither, I guess we didn't have anything this funny to laugh about." Starfire sighed and returned her head to Robin's shoulder. Robin moved his hand from her tight to her hair and stroked it carefully. _

"_Starfire…"_

"_Uhm?"_

"_When you return to Earth and everything is settled with Slade or whoever is fucking up our lives…"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I…I want you to…I want you to marry me…"_

_Starfire held her breath._

"_Not in the next year, maybe not even in the next couple of years but sometime along the way. We aren't kids anymore. I want to go back to school, get a degree. I mean, Cyborg is old enough to drink; he can't spend his entire life as a superhero. I don't think any of us can."_

_Starfire still said nothing, allowing Robin to say everything he had in his mind._

"_Don't get me wrong, I love the superhero life as much as you and all the others do but I also want to settle down sometime. I want to have my own house, live a normal life, a job that doesn't imply getting my ass whipped by a psycho. I want to have a normal life…and I want to spend it with you."_

_Starfire grabbed Robin by his cheek and she forced him to face her. She stared into his masked eyes before smiling and nodding at him._

"_I do too."_

_Robin pulled Starfire up and kissed her on her lips. They stayed like this for a few minutes before Starfire broke the kiss and hugged Robin with all her might. _

"_We will find whoever caused such pain to us. I will not have our separation to be in vain. I have cured myself from my disease and I can now face it again and defeat it. I will free you from it, Robin: even if I have to find the source and destroy it with my bare hands."_

"_You won't be alone. I'll be right next to you. I promise."_

_Starfire kissed him this time and after she broke the kiss, she stood up. Robin looked at her questioningly. She offered her hand to him and he accepted it. He stood up as well._

"_What are you doing?" Robin asked. Starfire grabbed his hand and led him to her bed. She lifted the blanket and made her way inside it and Robin did the same. "This dream cannot last forever. Let us enjoy the few moments we have left."_

_Robin smiled and lay behind her. He put his left arm around her waist and placed his right arm below her, intertwining his fingers with her left hand. She extended her right arm to reach his forearm on her waist and rested her head on the pillow while Robin nuzzled his face on her neck. _

"_Good night, Robin."_

"_Good night, Star."_

_They both closed their eyes, wanting the moment to last forever. Their minds concentrated on feeling the other's touch and listening to their breathing until their minds went black and no sound was heard in the room. _

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The sound of knocking on the door woke her up. Her eyes fluttered open a few times but she refused to leave the confines of her bed. She could still smell him on the covers and could still feel his warmth around her body. It had been one of those dreams where you know it is a dream but it is so intense that you can remember every single detail of it when you awake.

"Princess Koriand'r, The Grand Ruler of Tamaran wishes to know if you will come downstairs to have breakfast with him," a servant of the castle asked Starfire from outside her door. Starfire sighed and lay on her back and then on the opposite side, stroking the space where Robin's dreamy figure had been last night. She really did not want to leave bed today but she did not have the heart to decline Galfore's request.

"Princess…?"

"You may inform Galfore I will be downstairs in a moment."

"Thank you, your Majesty."

Starfire heard the servant leaving the premises and decided to get out of bed. She grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. She walked outside her room and walked down the hall. The palace was back to normal, the only clue that a big party had taken place the night before was the half-asleep servants around the hall. Starfire did not blame them; it had taken a lot of work to prepare but much more work to clean up after.

She took a quick shower and after making sure everything was in place and her custom made _earthling_ pajama was all buttoned up, she flew downstairs to meet up with Galfore at the breakfast table. The table was long and rectangular-shaped. Even though there were only 3 people eating this morning, the table could fit at least 32 people: 15 on each long side and one on each smaller side.

"Good morning, Galfore!" Starfire said and kissed his forehead. Starfire then noticed they had company. Galfore's future bride, Kal'n, was also there. "Good morning, Kal'n!"

Kal'n was a tall beautiful woman. Not as tall as Galfore but taller than Starfire. She had long curly reddish-brown hair and gray eyes. As Galfore had said before, she had been a servant of the castle until it was attacked by Gordanians and Galfore was forced to escape the planet with the two sisters. Kal'n had been forced to leave Tamaran but after many years of wandering and searching for Galfore she had ended up back on the planet when she found out that he was alive and had taken the Throne, re-stating peace on Tamaran.

"Good morning, Princess. I had wanted to thank you for the amazing Ball. It was a complete success, I loved it; everyone did."

Starfire smiled at her. Even though she did not remember much about her, she did remember she was a kind and noble person and that she had risked her life to save them. She did not believe Blackfire was grateful about it, she did not believe she even remembered her, but Galfore and Starfire were grateful and that was good enough.

"So, tell me, what Earth ideas you have for our wedding? I am eager to hear more about Earthling's customs. Galfore, can we visit Earth someday? It sounds like such an interesting place!"

Starfire smiled. She remembered the first time she had arrived to Earth she had been as excited, perhaps even more, as Kal'n was. She was happy that Robin and her friends had taught her so many things, but she was more excited about having someone to teach the Earth customs to.

"Oh! I have seen so many beautiful things at movies and soap operas and magazines! I do not even know where to start!"

"Mu-bis? Sopras? Mague-scenes?" Kal'n said, not been able to fully understand what Starfire was talking about. Galfore also made a confused face._ "Dear Robin, thank X'hal that you were patient enough with me to teach me the correct words!"_

"I shall explain all this to you later. Why do we not eat now? I am somewhat starving!"

"Very well, Koriand'r. But you have to tell me everything about Earth's weddings!"

"I will, I promise."

Starfire sat on her assigned chair, to Galfore's right side while Kal'n sat on Galfore's left side; Galfore sitting on the main chair in the middle of the rectangular table. Even after the wedding took place, Starfire would always be on Galfore's right side since she was the _blood_ heir of the Tamarean throne. Starfire was not fond of traditions but she had learned at a very young age that she had to abide by them…unless they implied staying in Tamaran, away from her friends.

The servants began bringing breakfast and the three ate calmly and in silence. Starfire's mind was remembering last night's dream, _"It felt so real."_ Galfore noticed how different she was acting from last night. Even though she was still away from Earth and was still to find the solution to her problems, she seemed more confident, happy…he even dared to say _relieved_.

"I see you had a great night, Starfire. Coordinating the Ball must have been so tiresome for you. Perhaps we should give you a break from planning the wedding so you can enjoy your vacation here." Galfore said while he devoured a purplish-yellowish round thing from his plate. Starfire shook her head.

"Not at all Galfore, I just feel relieved of getting so many things out of my chest. I believe this _vacation_ is fulfilling its purpose." Starfire said, knowing Galfore would understand what she really meant and Kal'n would not inquire about the _"getting so many things out of my chest"_ part.

"Is the life of a hero that difficult?" Kal'n asked.

…or maybe not.

Starfire finished chewing her food and after drinking the purple liquid on her cup, she cleared her throat and answered Kal'n's question.

"It is not difficult but sometimes we are called three or four times a day. Sometimes we are just arriving home when we are called again. There was a time we had to split the team to attend three different places at the same time. Yet, we have been able to manage. We are getting used to it by now."

"Do you not miss your home, Koriand'r?"

Starfire looked blankly at her plate, thinking about Kal'n's question. She did not know what concept she had for _home_. Home for Starfire meant Titans Tower on Earth. Kal'n did not have much previous knowledge of her life on Earth and she did not want to get into details for now. It was too early in the morning to be judged for abandoning Tamaran for Earth.

"I miss Galfore very much. It was difficult at the beginning, when I was alone. Earth seemed like a peaceful place to stay but it was so complicated at the same time. I even regretted my decision to leave Tamaran until I met my friends."

Kal'n took a sip from her own purple liquid and gave Starfire a quizzical look. "How about your duty to the Throne and to your people here?" Starfire flinched. How was she supposed to explain that she had fallen in love on Earth and that she was planning on staying there forever? Luckily, Galfore was the one to get her out of this predicament, as many other times.

"Kal'n, you were away for a long time and many things changed. Koriand'r has made Earth her new home. I respect her decision and as my future wife you shall respect it too. If rules had stayed the same, you had not been able to marry me, _ever_."

The table was silent for a moment. Servants brought the second round of food and took the empty plates from the table. After they were left alone again, Kal'n sighed before she spoke.

"I did not mean to judge you. It is just that I was brought up by very strict parents who forced me to abide by traditions…and then when the war came…well," she stopped to take another sip of her drink before continuing, "I just hope you are happy with your decision, Koriand'r."

"I have no regrets, whatsoever"

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Night time fell on Tamaran and Starfire headed for her quarters. Besides the incident in the morning, the rest of the day had been peaceful. Starfire had begun telling Kal'n about the type of wedding dresses they used on Earth and she was delighted to hear about them. Galfore was not happy to hear about the tuxedo he had to wear again but if Starfire said it would make them look different, he would wear it. He had promised things would change in Tamaran and that was a promise he intended to keep.

Starfire arrived at her room and before she knew it, she was laying on her bed. Even though she had no idea when she was going back to Earth, she knew it would not be anytime soon as she had been assigned the task of preparing Galfore's wedding with Kal'n. Besides, she did not want to miss her _kenorfka_'s wedding for anything in the world. However, as soon as the wedding was over, she was returning home to her friends; returning home to Robin.

"_The first thing I wish to do is prove to Robin that I can return to the team. I have regained my strength and self-control. I can become a Titan again. I want to fight, side-by-side, with my friends and with him."_

The second thing she had in mind was to find whoever was tricking her into going crazy. This time around, she was not going to give up without a fight. She was going to make sure she got her life back. She was going to take control of her life…once and for all. And, for once in her life, she was going to obsess with something. She had decided to free Robin from his past, embracing him in the present, and show him the future they could have…_together_…if they truly wished…and they truly tried.

Starfire stood from bed and headed for the balcony. It was a great night and the sky was clear as the night before. She rested her elbows on the fence and held her head in between her arms. Her eyes were aimed at the direction where Earth was located. She could not see it with the naked eye but knowing that Earth was her place to be and that she would be going back soon was all she needed to hold on another day. She closed her eyes and allowed the warm breeze to caress her face and melt her heart. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled through her mouth. She would be returning home, soon.

"_Just hang in there a little bit longer for me, Robin" _Starfire thought_." Trust me with your heart, as I trust you with my life."_


	13. Yearning and Healing

**A/N: Contains spoilers from GO! I don't own the Titans, but if anyone wants to give me possession of them for this Christmas, I would highly appreciate it. I would have never canceled the Titans if I owned them. I am mixing what I saw in GO! With my own version of their past as I had wrote it before in the prequels to this story. Please bear with me. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read the chapter, it's alright. It's a good chapter but you won't get too lost with the story if you don't read it :)**

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**Chapter 12**

Yearning and Healing

Cyborg woke up at the sound of his alarm clock. He opened his eyes, welcoming the new day like every day of his life. No one could ever understand his joy and gratefulness towards life, that is, unless someone had been on the verge of dieing and was brought back by a mere miracle…along with some help from technology. He stretched his arms and took a deep breath, exhaling the last remains of drowsiness he might have had. He looked at his arm and saw the time: 7:00AM.

"_I feel like making breakfast for everyone,"_ Cyborg thought. Starfire was the only one willing to prepare breakfast for them. At first, it had been painful for the Titans to eat what she made since she had trouble learning the name and use of Earth's food. Little by little, the Tamarean had learned to combine the ingredients and to measure them appropriately. Once she had learned the tricks of cooking, the Titans were always happy to eat what she made…as long as she did not use any of her alien ingredients, that is.

However, after she left, the task of making breakfast had been appointed to whoever had the time and will to cook for everyone in the morning. Sometimes BB had cooked, but he had ended up eating most of the breakfast or_ "made-up breakfast,"_ like Cyborg called it. Sometimes Cyborg did the cooking but BB refused to eat the _"sinner's food."_ Robin had made the effort to make breakfast but most of the time; he was not in the mood for eating, let alone to even prepare food. Even Raven had made the attempt to prepare breakfast but she had not succeeded in preparing anything edible to no one else but Silkie; and Silkie ate anything.

Cyborg sighed. It was not the early time in the morning that bothered him, or even the fact that he was making breakfast for everyone, even BB; but the current date that worried him. August, the month of August had arrived, marking the 4th month that had passed since Starfire had left. _"You have no idea how much we miss you, li'l lady."_

Cyborg made his way outside his room, and slowly walked down the path of the hallway. The hall was quiet, _too_ quiet, for a place that was home for 5…4 teenagers and a mutated worm. Cyborg knew Raven was at the roof, meditating. BB was still asleep in his room, and Robin was doing his morning workout in the training room. Robin had been afraid of losing shape with no _"work"_ in the past few months. He had morning training, noon trainings, evening trainings and night trainings.

Cyborg knew, as so did the others, that loosing shape was only one of the reasons he trained too much. The other reason for distracting himself was to forget that one of the members of the team was still not present yet. _"Robin needs her…we all do."_

Cyborg finally arrived at the main room, specifically the kitchen, and wasted no time in beginning to prepare breakfast. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed what he needed. _"Bacon and eggs for Robin and me, tofu for BB," _Cyborg thought and closed the door. Raven only drank her herbal tea this early in the morning. _"Wouldn't hurt to make some extra eggs for her, right?"_

He reopened the door and grabbed more eggs and bacon to have in case Raven felt hungry. "That girl is too skinny anyways; she needs to get more fat around those bones!"

"Who is too skinny?"

Cyborg flinched. He slowly turned around and saw Raven standing by the counter; an eyebrow lifted and her right fingers tapping the table, while her left hand rested on her hips. Cyborg gave her his biggest apologetically smile. "Would you believe me if I told you I was talking about Bumblebee?" Raven shocked her head. "Not really."

Cyborg closed the door again and left the items on the counter. He turned on the stove and began to look for pans and the kettle in the cabinets. Raven sat on a chair, still at the counter. "Need help?" Raven asked while resting her chin on both of her hands. Cyborg shocked his head.

"But maybe you can help me eat it."

"Between you, Beast Boy and Robin, that food will disappear in seconds."

"Perhaps, but I never see you eat, Raven."

"What? Are you saying that maybe I need some _fat_ on my bones?"

Cyborg flinched again. Rave smirked at his reaction. "It's alright," Raven said. "But, do you know who needs fat in his bones also? Robin. He hasn't been eating right…much less sleeping right. Maybe if I eat something, we can convince him to eat as well."

"Sounds like a plan," Cyborg replied. Cyborg continued to prepare breakfast and Raven offered to help to prepare her herbal tea. Cyborg accepted the offer and both of them were soon talking and laughing for the first time in months. There had not been much interaction between the members of the Team in the past months. Many things had happened to them in the past years. Things that had changed them and had made them mature even more, before they even really had to do so.

Cyborg chuckled, "Remember that time when BB thought his mask made him look cool?" Raven smiled. "It wasn't as bad as when I told him that he was funny! I have no idea what I was thinking! I created a monster that day!"

"You like my jokes Raven, don't deny it now!" BB said from his standing position at the entrance of the living room. "If I told you I did, would you stop making jokes?" BB shrugged. "My jokes make people happy, Raven. How can I deny the gift of happiness to the world?" He said while walking to the place Raven had been sitting and taking the seat himself.

"The same way you deny the gift of silence from me." BB glared at Raven. She smirked and returned to what she was doing. "Cyborg, are you making tofu for me?" BB asked pleadingly and Cyborg nodded. "Yes, grass stain, but only for you, no one else is eating it, got it?" BB nodded. "You are the ones missing out on it, not me! I am smart!"

"Whatever you said, dude," Cyborg answered. BB smiled and turned his face to the breathtaking view of the city from the glass wall at their Tower. This was the first time in a long, long time that he woke up this early. He had forgotten the beautiful view the Titans had from their home. "Do you guys remember the first time we noticed this place was awesome to build a house at?"

Cyborg smiled at the memory. They had just defeated the Gordanians, peace was restored to the city, and he had made new friends. That had been the happiest moment of his life until then. "Yeah, that was the day the team started, unofficially but yeah."

Raven sighed. She also remembered that long day. She had been walking around, moping about her destiny with Trigon when she sensed the alien presence. She had not have gotten involved in the fight if it was not for Robin and the others who asked her to stay. _"He is green, I am half-robot and she's from space,"_ Raven remembered Cyborg telling her that when she felt bad about using her powers to transport them to the aircraft. _"It was then that I realized I had found a home."_ She thought.

"What about you, Raven? What is it that you remember the most from that day?" Cyborg asked. _"If only you knew what that day means to me."_ Raven thought. She shrugged and decided not to reply. Cyborg and BB understood her silence as a clue that she also held onto that memory with all her might. The kitchen has become silent again for a few minutes until Cyborg spoke again.

"What about BB? He had sparkles on his eyes when he saw Robin, callin' him Sir and all." BB sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I did…so?" Cyborg chuckled and shocked his head. "You acted like such a fan boy, BB. It's not even funny! No, wait…it _is_!"

Cyborg laughed some more at BB's younger years of innocence but was taken aback when the elevator's bell ringed. Cyborg's laughter stopped, Raven stopped preparing her tea and BB gasped.

As if on cue, the three Titans looked at each other, none of them able to utter a word and trying to remember that their lungs needed air. They had been awaiting her arrival for such a long time, and had spent some more time yearning and reminiscing, that they had forgotten to stop and think what they would do when she returned.

_"We hug her to death and welcome her back home, what else?"_ Cyborg thought. _"I take her to the mall."_ Raven thought. _"I tell her a joke!"_ BB thought. Suddenly, the three young minds connected for what seemed a second, and had the same thought at the same time. _"What will Robin do when he sees she is back?" _BB could not help to gulp.

Finally, the long seconds after the elevator's ding that had seemed like hours, came to an end and the door of the elevator opened. The Titans turned their attention to the slowly opening door, revealing the person inside the _small moving room_…and Robin walked out from the elevator.

The Titans' eyes bugged out and sighed in relief. However, their relief was suddenly replaced by sadness again and then by surprise. Cyborg arched and eyebrow when he saw his watch on his arm. Raven looked at the relaxed Robin walk inside the main room. He smiled at them as in a sign of acknowledgment of their presence, and then made his way to the couch. He turned the big screen TV on and rested his _steel-toe_ feet on the table in front of the couch, grabbing the remote on his right hand and extending them to the sides of the back of the couch.

The Titans at the kitchen looked at him questioningly. They all had thought he had been in his room all this time but apparently he had not. BB slyly walked towards Robin and stood behind him. He waited a couple of seconds before poking Robin's shoulder. Robin did not move at all but uttered a low _"Yeah?"_ as a response.

"Care to tell us _where_ you were?" BB asked. Robin shrugged and flipped the channel to the morning news before he replied, "Just cruising around, that's all." BB turned to his friends with a _what-he-thinks-he-is-so-smooth_ face while waving his arms in desperation. Cyborg shrugged and Raven walked towards Robin, her herbal tea on her hands. She hesitated a little before finally sitting a few feet away from him.

"Was there any crime scenes at the city last night?" Raven asked, trying to sound as casual as possible, and then taking a sip of her tea. "Nope, everything's fine," Robin replied and continued to watch the screen. Raven frowned. "We are making breakfast for all of us, I feel like eating something else today, rather than only my tea. Want to join us?" Raven asked, this time with a little bit less of asking tone, but a more demanding tone.

Robin thought about the offer. If he said no, the Titans would ask him why he was not hungry, which would lead to them asking more questions about his whereabouts last night. He could not risk them knowing what he had been doing last night. As a matter of fact, he did not even think they would be up this early. His night escapades had been happening for a while now and none of them had ever noticed, since when he came back, they were not even out of their rooms yet.

On the other hand, if he said no and just left to his room, the Titans might begin to worry about him. He did not want to worry anyone ever again with his problems; not after the last person he had worried about had left his side, perhaps for good. He erased that last thought from his mind and decided to stick to his first option. He was not really hungry, though. He had just eaten breakfast a while ago.

"Sure, why not?" Robin replied and flipped the channel again, this time to an action movie marathon. Raven stood up from the couch and returned to the kitchen to continue to help Cyborg. BB jumped from behind the couch and watched the movie with Robin. Raven placed her cup of tea on the counter and eyed Cyborg. Cyborg replied with a whisper. "He's lying to us."

Raven nodded. Cyborg knew the alarm system was still on but he wondered if Robin had made it silent for them not to hear it. Raven knew he was lying, she could sense it. She also knew that she could just take advantage of their bond and wander on his mind to find the truth. However, doing that had proven to be a big mistake on the past. As much as she and the other Titans wanted to know what their leader was planning, she had to respect his privacy, at least just this once.

After a few more minutes, breakfast was ready and Raven was already setting up the table. Cyborg moved the pans with food to the kitchen table and then called BB and Robin, who were still watching the movie. "Yo, get your asses here! Breakfast is ready!"

Robin turned the TV off, only to hear BB's whining. "But the best part was coming! Five more minutes….please?" Robin said no and began walking towards the table with a muttering BB behind him. Raven and Cyborg sat on one side of the able while Robin and BB sat on the other side. The four Titans sat and began eating, trying to find topic of conversation that was not…

"Dude, before you came in, we were talking about the day we meet, remember?"

Exactly _that_…

Robin smiled. "Yeah! There I was, trying to go on solo and then I find a little green man who looks at me like if I was an idol of his! How can I forget that?" BB frowned while the other Titans chuckled. "From _all_ the things you could have said, you just _had_ to remember that one didn't you?" BB asked. "I try my best," Robin replied in between chuckles. "Whatever, man!" BB said.

"Come on, Beast Boy! How can I forget your face with the stars above your head and that silly mask?" Robin asked, smirking. "Well…that boy with silly mask saved your butt from getting whipped by a _GIRL_!" BB said and the table went quiet.

BB covered his mouth with both of his hands. Raven glared at BB and Cyborg's eye went down; so much for a happy breakfast. The Titans expected Robin to excuse himself and leave the table with a sour face but he did not. In fact, he grabbed another bite to eat and after chewing it and eating it, he spoke.

"It wasn't just _any _girl. It was the strongest girl ever…I wouldn't have mind getting my ass kicked by her. It would have been an honor…" Robin said with his voice almost breaking and full of sorrow.

"I'm sorry dude, I didn't mean to—," BB began but stopped after Robin spoke. "It's ok, it wasn't _that_ bad…I got a kiss, remember?" Robin said, half-smiling. BB smirked, "That's right! How was it?" BB asked. By now, Raven had slapped her face with her hand and Cyborg was shooting daggers with his eye at BB. Leave to Beast Boy to put salt on the cut.

Yet, to the Titans' surprise, Robin smiled again. "Wouldn't _you_ want to know Beast Boy?" Robin said. BB smirked and poked Robin's ribs. "Puh-lease! You were drooling over yourself and trying to follow her with the excuse of finding out if she was a _threat_! You were all _'They won't take you, not if I can't help it!_' and _'I didn't get your name'_ and blushing…pathetic, man, just pathetic!" BB said making sure he made an awful imitation of Robin's voice when he quoted him.

Robin burst in laughter this time. The Titans gave him a strange look while he punched his chest to stop him from chocking. He drank a big sip of his milk and placed the glass down before laughing some more. "Well, can you _blame_ me? This girl comes to Earth, kicks _my_ ass, _kisses_ me and then leaves? Didn't you think I got intrigued?" Robin asked.

Cyborg smirked. "Yeah, who would have thought that the Boy Blunder would become an alien's bitch?" BB spit his made-believe milk and began laughing. Raven tried her best not laugh but she could not help to scoff to prevent laughter from coming out of her mouth. "So…? Yes, she can do whatever _she_ wants with me! There, I said it! Are you happy now? Besides, it wasn't just any alien…it was a _hot_ alien…" Robin said, accomplishing his task of leaving his friends speechless.

He laughed at his faces and calmed himself down before speaking again in a mocking tone, "Who is laughing now, eh?" The Titans shock their heads and the laughter began again. Finally, after many months of the eeriest sounds of silence around Titans' Tower, laughter now echoed on the walls of their home. "I wanna see you saying that when she's here! Then we would get to see your ass being kicked…again!" Cyborg said between laughs.

"I'll make sure and tell her you were making fun of me and she will take care of your for me," Robin replied. "Take revenge on you…with them? I don't think so. She has better things to do." Raven said.

"Are you saying that she would not avenge my honor?" Robin asked, trying to sound hurt but failing miserably. "First, you would have to explain to her what _hot _means…oh, wait! You don't have to because the guys at the club and at the mall called her hot already and you have not!" Raven said.

"Well, uhm— then…"

Raven arched her eyebrows mockingly. Cyborg smirked and BB tried his best not to laugh again. "Whatever!" Robin said and filled his mouth with as much food as he could. The Titans finished eating in between jokes and teasing Robin as much as they could. They were happy to have the old Robin back, even if it was only for the time being. They missed their leader and they were sure he also missed them.

After the food was gone and the place was clean, Raven left to her room while BB and Cyborg took over the game station. They invited Robin to play but he was really tired. He had spent the entire night awake and he wanted to shower and take a long nap. He knew he had to return to his newly-found task as soon as the Titans fell asleep, and he did not want to take any chances. "Maybe another day, ah?" was Robin's response.

Cyborg and BB returned to their game and Robin went straight to his room to grab clean clothes, and then made his way to the bathroom. He allowed the water to run until hot water filed the bath tub. _"Even a tough guy like me deserves a bath, especially after the night I had."_ He undressed himself and allowed himself to sink into the tub. _"This feels nice."_

Robin closed his eyes and remembered the events of last night. He had not expected what had occurred to him, nor did he expect to succeed in his task with such speed. If he knew he the marvels he could have accomplished a long time ago, he would have not hesitated at all before. _"All I have to do now is waiting; I have all the time in world now."_

Robin sighed and opened his eyes once again. He then realized something. He was in the same place and in the same position Starfire had been when Slade attacked her. He admitted that he had not believed it before, even if Starfire had told him right away. However, after talking to Jones, he now knew not to doubt her. "I haven't seen Slade in a while, though. I have dreamed of him but I haven't seen him. I wonder where he is."

It was true. The last time he had seen Slade was that night at the garage. After that, the nightmares had stayed but he had not seen Slade behind his back or listened to his teasing. _"Maybe he gave up,"_ he thought, "or maybe he has found her!" Robin whispered. _"No, he doesn't know where she is; he can't travel to Tamaran, can he?"_

Robin wished with all his heart that he could not. All the _evidence_ he had that she was alright was the weird dream he had about them. Even then, his piece of evidence was not tangible. _"Maybe it was only a dream after all. And I'll be damned if it was! I have to gain courage to pop the question again!"_

Robin closed his eyes again, trying to remember his dream about her with as much detail as he could._ "She was sad for being apart. She does miss me as I miss her."_ After remembering her and her voice, he finished his shower. He got dressed and began combing his hair. _"Where's my hair gel?"_ Robin thought.

After looking for it in the cabinet, he was able to find a nearly empty bottle of hair gel. "I need to buy another bottle or I will have to leave my hair down." He was able to comb his hair with the little gel he had, throwing the empty bottle to the trashcan afterwards. "_This time I wont buy the cheap one."_ He walked to his room, fell on his bed, and kissed consciousness goodbye.

Raven walked towards the kitchen. It was 10 at night and she craved a hot cup of herbal tea. The doors of the main room slid opened and she was surprised to see the big screen TV on. _"Stupid, Beast Boy! He must have fallen asleep at the couch again." _Raven thought. She made her way to the kitchen and poured water on the kettle to then place it on the stove. She turned the fire on and began sighed at the box of different kinds of tea she had in front of her.

After much thinking, she finally decided which one she wanted and pulled it out from the box. She closed the box and placed it back on the top cabinet, just in time to hear the kettle whistle. She quickly turned the stove off, avoiding a night talk with the most likely fallen asleep Beast Boy and poured the hot water on her cup. She placed the tea bag inside it and observed how it quickly began to color the water.

She grabbed her cup with both hands and made her way to the TV. She eyed the room on her path, trying to find the remote so she would not have to risk being seen by BB but, to her bad luck, the remote was nowhere to be found. _"We have 20 remotes! 20 remotes and I can't find one?"_

Raven arrived at the TV and was close to turning it off when someone's voice stopped her.

"I'm watching that, you know?"

Raven sighed in relief. The voice that she had heard was not BB's voice. It was Robin's voice. She turned to face him and saw he had been laying on the couch. He then he sat. "I didn't see you there before, what are you doing up this late?" Raven asked.

"Couldn't sleep…" _Had nightmares again,_ "You?" Robin asked. "Felt like having tea." She answered. Robin nodded and then sighed deeply. He knew Raven knew he was lying. He was thinking of Starfire and Slade's threats had woken up him from his slumber. Raven thought of leaving him alone but she could not help to still feel like everything was her fault. She had pushed Robin's buttons until he was so sick of being blamed for everything that he ignored Starfire for a while.

"_Maybe if I hadn't been so nosy, she would still be here."_ Raven thought. _"But maybe being nosy can get me his whereabouts from last night. He is Robin but he shouldn't be out at night by himself. Especially if he doesn't tell us about it."_ Now everything that Raven needed was an ice breaker. Something to start the conversation, so she asked the first thing that came to her mind.

"Have you given up on her?" Raven asked Robin "_Smooth, Raven, real smooth, why don't you just rub a picture of her to the poor guy's face, eh?"_ He sighed, and flipped the channel for the 20th time before answering Raven's question. "Not at all…I just figured that she left so she would not see me worry about her, it would suck if she came back to see me looking like I am half-dead. Then her departure would have been in vain, you know? To be honest with you, I can't wait to see her again."

Raven sat next to Robin, seeing that he was in the mood for talking. Maybe she could find out where he had gone the night before after all; and why had he not asked for help with anything that he might had been doing that night. "You are full of surprises, Robin. Do you know that?" Raven asked.

"How come?" Raven took another sip of her tea, this time making _him_ wait for an answer. "You never lose hope."

"I care for her too much to doubt her reasoning. She knows what she is doing. She has never let me down before and she is not going to start now. I know it." Raven could not help to feel bad for her friend. Four months, four months had passed with no word of her well-being. All they could do was to pray and hope she was fine and that she was coming back, soon.

"Do you miss her, Robin?" Such a simple question with a simple answer; or so some might have thought. Yet, Robin knew that the question had more to it. What was exactly what Robin missed? Did he miss the attention? Did he miss the physical presence? Did he only miss the touch? Robin frowned at the mere insinuation of lack of true love in his feelings for her.

"I miss everything about her, Raven. It's like half of me left with her. It makes me feel hollow inside. Like if there exists this big hole inside me and nothing seems to fill it up. I have never felt like this before and it scares me."

"I wish I could tell you I knew she was coming back soon, but I don't know about that. She might take one more day to return, she might take a week, a month or even a year. Are you willing to wait that much? Are you still going to feel the same way about her when she returns?"

"Raven, I always thought that when someone left your side, it was worse for the person leaving because he or she could not take _anything_ with them; because they had to leave everything behind and start all over again. Now I know that it's _not_ true. The person who stays behind is the one who _has_ to deal with the burden of loneliness because he did not have a choice. The person who left _had _the choice to stay but decided to leave. The real sorrow stays with the one left behind. I don't like that burden, Raven. It hurts like a bitch, but I am willing to hold on to any hope I have for the sake of hearing her voice calling my name, _and only my name_, again."

"What will you do if she decides to stay and never come back? She has that option, you know?" _So much for talking about last night, _Raven thought in defeat

Robin frowned even deeper, and Raven swore he saw him flinch at the mere thought of losing Starfire. His fists and jaw clenched tight, trying to restrain the urge to cry like a baby at the possibility of not seeing her ever again. He had not cried on the outside, but in the inside his body was beginning to get filled up with salty water. It was only a matter of time before the tears would make their way to his eyes. _"Not now, not in front of them."_

Then there was the dream he had months ago, the dream where he had traveled through space to meet up with her. The dream that had renewed his hope and allowed him to express what he felt to her; _"I…I want you to…I want you to marry me…"_ Robin remembered telling her that in his dream. _I want to have a normal life…and I want to spend it with you."_ And he still did.

"Robin…?" Raven still waited for Robin's response. She knew it hurt him to even think about that, but she also wanted to make sure he knew this scary scenario might end up happening. She had to be his dose of reality, not only because it was true, but because she was his friend.

"That is _not_ in my case scenario list, Raven. And if it does happen, I'll deal with it then, not before."

_"Close enough,"_ Raven thought and took another sip of her tea. "What are your other case scenarios?" Robin relaxed a little; at least they were not going to talk about Starfire not returning home to them. Robin cleared his throat.

"Well," Robin began, lifting his index finger of his left hand to indicate the first option was coming up, "There is the first scenario, where she comes back, after a while we get married and have lots of babies." Raven smirked. "Then we have case scenario two," Robin lifted a second finger, "She comes back but decides to break up with me…then, with time, I convince her to love me again, and then we get married and have lots of babies." Raven had a big smile on her face by now. _"At least he is joking by now. He must be feeling better."_

"Finally, case scenario 3," He lifted a third and last finger, "I get my _ass _on the T-Ship, go to Tamarean, bring her ass back here and then—," Raven interrupted Robin and finished his sentence for him; "you get married and have lots of babies."

Robin smiled and shocked his head. "Not really, Raven. I get her ass back here, we get married, and _then_ we have lots _and lots_ of babies, more than the previous two scenarios, 'cause she made me travel a bunch of light years to get to her." Raven shocked her head. "You have it bad, don't you?"

"Well, yeah…that's what I've been told." Robin answered. Raven stood up from the couch and Robin still chuckled to himself. She extended her arm to Robin and opened her hand. Robin saw something shine on her palm and got closer to get a better look. "What is that? A penny? Are you paying me to make you laugh, 'cause that is Beast Boy's job," Robin said.

Raven rolled her eyes. "No, _clorbag_! This is a gift a _dear _friend of mine gave me when I thought everything was lost and had no hope. I held on to it, but I think you need it more than I do right now. _Don't _lose it because I expect it back from you as soon as you get well."

Robin grabbed the penny and gave it a long look before placing it inside his utility belt. "Thanks Raven." Raven nodded and began to make her way to the main door. It was late and she wanted to go to bed. She walked to the door and before walking out of the room, she spoke to Robin one more time.

"And if you tell Beast Boy I still have that penny he gave me, I will make sure you are not able to have lots and lots of babies." Robin laughed. "K, Raven. My lips are sealed." And with that, Raven left behind the closing door. Robin then turned the TV off before quickly making his way down the elevator, to his R-Cycle. The hours of darkness had arrived, and so had his duty of every night.

"_If they ask, I'll tell them I went shopping for hair gel."_

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**A/N: **The REAL story begins in the next chapter. New chapter will be up in a couple of days:)


	14. Last Battle

**A/N: **This will be a long chapter. First, because it is a very important chapter; and second, because the previous chapter was shorter than my usual chapters. For those of you who did not read the previous chapter to not spoil yourselves, all you need to know is that Robin is sneaking up on the Titans every night for reasons to be known later. Raven gave Robin her lucky penny to give him hope that Star was coming back and Robin finally bought himself the expensive type of hair gel :P

I want to thank **Adamant Eve a.k.a. anna-neko **for her help with this chapter. This is _THE_ chapter of the entire story and I would have not been able to complete if it was not for her. THANK YOU SO MUCH! And read her stories, they are really good. You probably won't come back to read mine if you read hers :P

And now, on to the key chapter of the entire story. Read and enjoy!

**Warning:** This chapter contains strong violence. If you had a big dinner and plan to read this, don't blame me for the nightmares :)

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**Chapter 13**

Last Battle

There was no other audible sound other than that of her relaxed breathing. The wind was calmed; the city was _eerie_ calmed; the atmosphere was tense. Her mind had been working at a thousand miles per hour. Her senses made her feel uneasy. She knew something bad was going to happen; something was going to go terribly wrong. She meditated and hoped her visions were wrong. She hoped her feelings were just a sign of boredom as crime doers had been practically wiped out from the face of planet. Their enemies had just disappeared, just like that.

The roof of Titans Tower was occupied by only her. In fact, the entire Tower was occupied by only her at the moment. Cyborg and BB had gone grocery shopping while Robin had just said he was going out and had left a couple of hours ago. A month after Starfire had left; Robin had begun leaving the Tower almost everyday. He never said where he went or when he was coming back. Sometimes he left for an hour; sometimes he left for five, one time he left for an entire day.

He never gave explanations when asked and, sooner than later, the Titans had given up on trying getting information from him. _"Maybe he has a new girlfriend, maybe he has forgotten about Star?"_ BB had suggested once. His comment was quickly followed by the glares of Raven and Cyborg. BB shrugged, _"What are you looking at me like that for? I'm not the one running around with another girl!"_

Raven sighed. It was true that they were almost completely back to their normal selves; however, there was something Robin was hiding from them and she feared it had something to do with her horrible visions and apprehensive thoughts. _"Maybe if I tell Robin about them, he will tell me where the hell he goes out to every night!"_ Raven closed her eyes to concentrate on remembering her visions.

She had the power to predict the future, sometimes at least. Something bad was going to happen to her friends; she had to find out what it was before it was too late. _"Nobody is hurting my friends, not if I can help it!"_ Raven concentrated even harder, making her eyes shut tight and her brows furrowed. "I must know who or what is behind this…I must concentrate even harder," Raven whispered and her vision began.

Whenever she had the vision without forcing it to come, the scenes were played rapidly; too quick for her to make true sense out of them. The only thing she was sure about was that they were more than images from her mind; they were premonitions. Someone was giving her the chance to prevent a disaster. She had to try, she had to force herself to endure and try.

Raven saw red and white all around her. She was not able to figure out what she was seeing, as she was only able to see the colors. Suddenly, there was rain…or something like it. Brown lines began falling to the black void below her. She tried her best to avoid the objects falling but one hit her back. She cried in pain.

The pain; it was unbearable. As a hero, Raven had managed to ignore the pain inflicted by her enemies, get up and continue the fight. Whatever it had been that hit her in her vision, was big enough to make her want to run away and open her eyes. _"I can't, I must go on…for them."_ She thought. Raven kept walking towards who knew what was in front of her. She then saw green and heard a heartbreaking scream.

Raven felt like if her eardrums were going to pop. The scream was full of pain and sorrow. After the scream was over, Raven began to feel like if a million of ants made their way all over her body. She wanted to stop and scratch but her body would not respond. Her fear rose when she felt the air in her lungs suddenly disappearing. She tried to gasp for air but there was none to breathe. Her eyes were loosing the little vision they had and everything began to turn black.

She tried to cry for help but there was no one that could hear her in her visions or in the Tower. She was alone, all by herself, and she was going to die there. _"I don't…I don't want to die…Help! Anyone!" _

Then she heard a sound.

She could not make out where it was coming from but it was her only source of hope. She tried to ignore the pain that the lack of air caused. She tried to move her body but it would not respond. She tried to scream but no voice would come out. She did not know why, but she had to follow the sound. The sound would take her back home. Raven fought the pain; she was not going to die there, not without a fight.

The sound appeared again, louder this time. She put all her strength into moving one finger, then another, until she was able to move the entire hand. The hand followed the arm; the arm followed the other arm and so on. She kept forcing herself to follow the sound and the loudness got stronger by the second. _"I will make it! I will come out from this and warn them…they must not feel this pain!"_

She felt herself crawling on the ground of her vision. The red and the white began to surround her again, eating the blackness that had sent her to the void seconds before.

Suddenly she fell.

And the fall actually hurt.

She finally was able to open her eyes. She was on her back, panting, taking deeper breathes of the essential air she needed so much. She was shaking and her fingernails tried to dig into the concrete floor. Her sight became clearer and clearer as she tried to relax herself and focus on the bright light; the bright light of the sun setting.

She was back on the roof; she was back home. The vision had been so real and so scary that she felt her eyes fill with tears. She began sobbing lowly until she put herself together. That was until she was scared to her wits when she heard the sound again.

It was a beeping.

It was her communicator.

The Titans had been called. Something had occurred.

She dried her tears with the back of her hand, still on her back, and took a few seconds to compose herself before sitting up and opening the communicator to see Robin's face. "Raven, are you ok? I've been trying to reach you for an hour now!"

"I'm sorry," she replied, "I was meditating," _and_ _being nearly killed while at it_, she thought. "What's wrong?" Raven asked, trying to sound as calmed as she could. "It's this mysterious new enemy we had; he is back and caused disturbances in the city. I was able to deal with them and I followed them to their secret lair. I found it Raven, and I need you guys to come. I called Beast Boy and Cyborg about 20 minutes ago and they are on their way. I am sending you the coordinates. I'll wait for you outside. Robin, out!"

Raven looked at the blank screen of her communicator before flipping it close; her vision suddenly returning to her. _"Robin…"_

She shocked her head to focus on what she had to do and stood up. She placed her communicator on her belt and began levitating to where her friends were. She just hoped Robin did not do anything stupid like attacking the enemies at his lair all by himself, again.

She increased her speed and before she knew it, she had caught up with the T-Car going at a very fast speed. She flew right next to them to let them know she was on her way as well and Cyborg and BB nodded. They knew that what Robin had found was a huge breakthrough. However, they also knew they were a member short, one of the strongest members actually. The Titans wondered if he was aware of this. They knew he was aware of Starfire not being with them, but they did not believe he was aware of the risks they were taking by going to the wolf's mouth with no previous planning.

"I hope he knows what we are doing!" BB told Cyborg. Cyborg nodded and accelerated even more. They were close to their destination: an abandoned warehouse at the other side of the city. _"We promised we would take care of him, Star. And we will…"_ Raven thought before finally decreasing her speed when she saw the T-Car slowing down to get outside the concrete road and into the forest.

Little by little, the T-Car slowed down until it completely stopped. Raven stopped flying and descended, standing next to her friends that had already abandoned the safeness of their vehicle. "I guess we walk from here," Raven said and the Titans began the journey. After a few minutes of silent walking, their minds deep in thought about what they were about to do, Beast Boy spoke, "Raven, where were you? You wouldn't answer our call…is everything alright?" Raven nodded, "_I was just getting myself killed, that's all," _she thought, but decided not to get into details until she talked to Robin.

"How much longer to walk, Cyborg?" Raven asked, trying to change the subject. "Not long, in fact, we should be on Robin's tail right about…"

"Now," Robin said. The Titans turned back to see their leader behind them. "We better stop here, the clearing begins right after those trees," he said, pointing to the front. "We have to find a way around it and a way in."

"Robin, are you sure you want to do this?" Raven asked. "Yes, we can take them down." Robin answered. "Ya-hu, uhum, or they can take _us_ down. I still think this is suicide, Robin." BB said crossing his arms and lifting his chin in defiance. Robin glared at BB and he quickly changed his attitude, "Or not…"

Robin walked to the last protection the trees in front of them offered, and took a last peak at the building in front of them before speaking again. "Beast Boy, turn into a fly and get your ass there. See what you can find before we sneak in. Cyborg, use your radars to see if anything else is coming this way and Raven, use your senses, try to find if there are more humans around. If this is gonna get ugly, I don't want _any_ innocent people out here that can get hurt."

BB saluted, turned into a fly and disappeared into the bushes. Cyborg opened his arm and his radar began to try to pick up any vehicles or aircrafts around. Raven closed her eyes, levitated and began her meditation. Robin did some calculations on his T-Com while the rest of the Titans took a few minutes to finish their assigned tasks. _"This is it, either **we** stop them once and for all and don't miss the opportunity of a lifetime, or we **don't** go back home after this."_

"The only thing moving around is BB, but he doesn't count as human, right?" Cyborg joked. Raven opened her eyes and shocked her head at Robin, "There is no one else here but us." The night had fallen by now, and the September moon illuminated the clearing. There was nothing else but the Titans, a warehouse full of the enemy's robots, and a forest that would serve as a silent witness of the events of tonight. "I _hate_ waiting, where the hell is Beast Boy?" Robin asked, pacing around his friends.

"Be patient, Robin. He's probably on his way back already," Cyborg suggested.

Raven closed her eyes again, trying to find BB's presence. She could not. She tried harder, but there was no sign of him. She panicked. The only two reasons why Raven could not be able to feel someone's aura was because either the person was unconscious or…Raven did not dare to finish her sentence. In turn, she opened her eyes and looked at Robin and Cyborg before her feet touched the ground again.

"Beast Boy's in trouble, I can't sense him."

Robin looked at the even paler Raven and then at Cyborg, his masked eyes narrowing. "We have to strike now, we have no other choice." The Titans nodded and made their way to the warehouse. Cyborg decided to sneak in from behind and ran around the edge of the clearing until he reached his destination, waiting for the best time to jump out. Robin used his grappling hook and flawlessly swung his way to the roof, while Raven merged to the ground and traveled through it until she reached the walls. She penetrated the walls, still in her dark shadow form and wandered around inside looking for a safe spot to materialize herself.

Cyborg reached the back of the warehouse just in time to see one of the robotic henchmen coming out from an underground door.

Sonic boom.

"Boo-yah, Henchi!" Cyborg whispered and made his way to the door after blasting the henchman to millions of pieces. He opened the door and jumped inside the hole.

"HA! I am in…now all I have to do is find BB and get our asses…" Someone tapped Cyborg's shoulder.

He slowly turned back and was received with a hard punch to his face. Cyborg flew back and hit the wall before falling to the floor on his knees and then falling, face flat, on the ground.

"_Ouch_, you son of a bitch…" Cyborg said still on the floor while preparing his sonic cannon for the payback, "That actually hurt!" Cyborg got on one knew and blasted the henchman to dust. He pulled his sonic cannon to his mouth and blew air on it to stop the smoke that was coming out of it. "Nobody messes with Cyborg!"

Suddenly, the lights were turned on and the scene was not pretty. The basement of the warehouse was full of robotic henchman, at least a 100 of them. Cyborg's happiness was quickly dissolved when he saw the view. The worst part of all was that he was alone to fight them all. "Oh, boy" Cyborg said, and the fight began.

Raven finally managed to find a place where no one would see her materialize. She came from under the ground and was quick to analyze her surroundings. Some of the henchmen in front of her were carrying some boxes while some others built what could only be described as weapons. "_**Dangerous** weapons, probably be able to wipe out the **city** with them,"_ Raven thought.

She ventured further into investigating but was stopped when she heard someone's cries. She turned to her left and saw the worst sight ever. About 20 of the robots were kicking and punching _him _with no mercy. He cried in pain and flinched at the mere view of the fists and feet surrounding him. They would take turns, pushing him around like a rag doll until his legs would fail him and he kissed the ground.

His uniform was torn and he was bleeding from so many places she did not want to think what they had been doing to him in the past half hour. _"No wonder I couldn't sense him. He must have been knocked unconscious and he just woke up again."_ Raven shivered. She did not want to imagine what they had done to him to make him faint. All that truly mattered was that she was there and she was going to help him. "Screw the undercover mission, I am going to save Beast Boy!" Raven said and flew towards the bullying henchmen with a war scream. "Leave him alone!" Raven yelled, getting the attention of the robots.

As soon as the mechanical occupants of the warehouse acknowledged her presence, they began blasting her with their laser guns and throwing whatever they found at her. Raven dodged the hits, her eyes never leaving her friend's fate. _"Why doesn't he morph? Dammit, Beast Boy turn into a flea and run!"_ Raven thought. "Beast Boy, get a grip!"

Beast Boy opened his one good eye and looked at Raven. She could not help to gasp. His right eye had been beaten closed. She prayed he had not lost his eye for good or his sight for that matter. His left arm was hanging as his shoulder had been dislocated. The cuts and blood stained his purple uniform with red spots that seemed to be growing by the minute. Raven felt tears come to her eyes, he looked so bad, and he looked like he was dying. _"Green, I saw green in my visions…was it Beast boy dieing? No, it can't be! I won't allow it!"_

Raven speed up and yelled her magic words to blast the robots away from Beast Boy who was now on his knees, holding his weight on his good arm, trying not to fall completely. _"The red and white I saw was the warehouse. The green was Beast Boy…what was the brown?"_ Raven thought while descending next to Beast Boy's side. He was panting, choking on his own blood. Still, he managed to smile at Raven when she held him, trying to lift him from the ground.

"Why are you crying Raven? Are you hurt? Did one of these bastards hit you? Tell me who it was so I can kick their ass!" Raven's heart broke right there and then. That was Beast Boy alright; always thinking of the others before him. Even when he was on the verge of _dieing_ from lost of blood.

"Don't worry about me, Beast Boy. We have to get you out of here. Let me call Robin to tell him I am taking you to a hospital," Raven said and began looking for her communicator.

Unfortunately, it was no there.

"_What the hell? Where is it?"_ Raven thought. As if the robots have read her mind, they began shooting at them. Raven ducked and made BB ducked along with her. She covered BB's head with her own body and then built a barrier with her powers. "Beast Boy, give me your communicator, we have to call Robin. We need backup!"

BB looked at Raven with a defeated face and Raven expected the worse. "I don't have mine, Raven. They took it away from me." Raven's face paled. She was going to respond to Beast Boy when a loud sound was heard.

Raven's instinct made her throw BB to the ground and placed her body on top of him to offer protection. She had no idea what the sound meant but a few seconds later she found out. Before she could react, her magical barrier was destroyed by the hit of something that could only be described as a huge version of Cyborg's sonic cannon. As soon as the barrier was gone, the firing resumed. Raven lifted herself up and stood in front of a fallen BB.

"Azarath, MetrION, ZYNTHOS!"

Raven's dark aura surrounded them both, making her eyes glow a bright red given the strength she was putting on her barrier. She then used her powers to throw whatever she could find towards the robots but it did not seem to work. The more she blasted them, the more robots appeared. "Beast Boy, turn into a rat and get the hell out of here! I don't know how much longer I can last!"

No response.

"Beast Boy?"

"Beast BOY!"

"BEAST BOY!"

He did not respond. He did not even move. _"No! He can't be…no!"_ The glow in Raven's eyes could not be compared to raging fire now. She slowly walked towards BB and sat next to him, making sure that her barrier lasted this time. She slowly turned BB to his back and checked for a pulse, which she was glad to found. She checked for new cuts or bruises but she found none. Yet, something caught her eye that she had not seen before. Something on his neck, "Is that a…"

Raven was not able to finish her sentence as two cannons were used now against her again. She was thrown far away from were BB's unconscious body laid. Her body hit the machines that were on her way before hitting the wall and landing on the concrete floor. Raven felt a pain similar to the one she had felt in her visions, but this time she felt it on her arm; her now broken arm.

She had hit one of the machines too hard and her forearm was now separated from the rest of her arm. Raven gasped in shock at the sight of her limp limb. _"This is not happening! This can't be happening! Are we all going to die here?"_ Raven's thoughts were interrupted when the sound of running footsteps approached her. The mechanical enemies took no chance and had surrounded Raven for the second time. _"I need to do something. Beast Boy…he is not gonna make it…and neither am I."_

The robots aimed at the fallen Raven with their laser guns and other weapons which Raven had no idea what they did. Unfortunately, she was going to find out very soon. Her eyes moved to her right, looking for a sign of BB recovering, but he still lay on the floor. She returned her eyes to the robots in front of her as they waited for her to make a move. Raven slowly stood up, trying not to move her broken arm as much. She flinched at the huge pain a small movement caused her, yet she managed to face her enemy.

She looked up and saw the lights. Perhaps if she could cut the electricity off, she would be able to flying away from them during the confusion, and get BB and herself out of the building. _"That is my only option. I won't go down without a fight."_

Raven's eyes began to glow red again and her cape and hair began floating. She radiated a black energy that she planned to use to break the light bulbs and fly her and BB's way out of there. The robots seemed to be prepared to anything and the last thing Raven heard was the clicking of the guns. She was surrounded by darkness and the firing began.

"Azarath…Metrion….ZYNTHOS!"

Robin observed the 4th floor of the building from the roof's emergency window. His eyes narrowed at the ridiculous amount of weapons that were stored inside. "Whoever is this doing this, he is not playing around," Robin whispered. Robin waited until the robots were out of sight and opened the emergency window. He looked inside before jumping towards the floor. His eyes observed his surroundings, making sure no one was close enough to him.

"_I can't believe I allowed this bastard to gather this much shit! I should have being worrying about finding him instead of moping around and feeling sorry for myself." _It was not that he did not miss her or blamed her, but he had focused too much of his time and energy in something he could not change, rather than in protecting his city. Robin stood up straight once he saw no one was near.

Then a loud bang was heard and he hit the floor again, this time against his will. "What the _hell_ was…?"

Darkness; the room was filled with darkness before he could even finish his sentence. Robin froze, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. His fists and teeth clenched, preparing himself for any surprise attack the enemy had ready for him. _"They must know we are here."_

The alarm went off. The darkness was replaced with red flashing lights. Robin heard footsteps, many of them. He stood up and hid himself behind a box. "I need to find the others, tell them to abort the mission," Robin said while reaching for his communicator. He flipped it open and opened the transmission for all the Titans to hear. "Titans, this is Robin. We have been setup. Abort the mission. I repeat, abort the mission. Get your asses out of here, now!"

The only response Robin got from his friends was static. No one had picked up their communicators…or they did not have them within arms reach anymore. "Shit!"

Robin ran out of his hide out and began running towards the stairs. He had to find them. He had to save them from the mess his stubbornness had gotten them in. _"When we get out of this one, I am not going to hear the end of it…"_ He did not care if his friends reminded him of his stupidity for the rest of his life. All the really mattered was that they all made it out safe and sound…or at least alive.

Robin ran down the hall made of cardboard boxes and saw the stairs. "Almost there, I can make it without getting…" and Robin's face kissed the floor. "…caught."

Robin rapidly turned to face his attacker. One of the robots had used a grappling hook on his leg. "You are gonna regret that!" Robin said and used his birdarang to cut the rope. The robot jumped back to prepare for the fight while Robin jumped on the air, aiming a flying kick at him. The robot was able to dodge it just in time and send Robin flying with a kick of his own. Robin managed to land gracefully nonetheless, and growled.

"New enemy, new technology? Whoever this guy is, he is very smart," Robin said before standing up and getting onto a fighting stance. "Let see how long you can keep dodging my attacks, metal ass." The robot responded by getting on a fighting stance of his own. _"Either someone has been checking on us or I seriously **have** to learn a new fighting style."_

Robin began the fight by running towards the enemy, which mimicked Robin's moves. Robin punched, the robot punched. Robin kicked, the robot kicked. Robin tried to skid and force him to fall, the robot did the same. _"This is not good."_

The fighting cries continued and echoed on the walls of the fourth floor. Unknown to Robin, was the fact that they were not alone. Someone else was in the room with them; someone who was not Robin's friend: another of those robotic henchmen. Yet, his orders were not to interfere with the fighting, neither to be seen nor heard by the Titans. His orders were different, more simple but more precise at the same time.

Robin was able to aim a hard kick to the robot's chest; however, he easily grabbed Robin's foot and did the unthinkable. He used the hand he had on Robin's foot and bent Robin's leg to one side while he used his free hand to press against Robin's right knee, dislocating it without hesitation. Robin cried a scream of pain.

Not happy with this, the robot twisted Robin to his other side, pulled his left arm and kicked his ribs, dislocating the left shoulder as well. Robin fell to the floor, gritting his teeth and screaming in pure pain. Once Robin was on the floor, face down, trying to deal with the pain that had been so unmercifully inflicted on him, the robot put his foot on Robin's back.

The hiding robot appeared behind him and threw a metal ring to the robot that had hurt Robin. The hiding robot left as fast as he had appeared. He still had something else to do, and the time to perform his tasks was approaching. The fighting robot bent down to Robin and lifted his head by his hair.

Robin growled at him, trying not to show how much he was hurting at the moment. He tried to grab the robot's foot and pull him off himself but he could not. The pain that followed the strength he needed to make up for his broken limbs was too much to bear. The robot kicked Robin's arm and put the metal ring on Robin's neck, and then proceeded to remove Robin's utility belt. The metal ring closed with a beep and Robin felt the coldness of the material.

"_What is this? A necklace…but what for?"_ Robin thought. He felt the weight from the robot's foot disappear. He turned to face the robot that now was standing behind him, arms crossed with a remote in one of his hands. "What the fuck are you doing?"

The robot's response was to press a button of the remote and shocked Robin's neck.

"Ahhhh!"

The shocking ended and Robin gasped in short breathes. He felt his entire body tremble when the electricity ran all over him. He began coughing and cursing his luck at the same time. "You son of a bitch! You are lucky I can't move freely or I would have…."

Robin was shocked again.

Robin slowly began tossing himself to have his back on the floor. The robot just stood there, never letting his finger lift from the button. Robin eyed him fiercely. _"That remote control has two buttons; one of them has to be one that unlocks this shit."_ Robin began making slow movements, fearing another shocking if he moved too fast. However, the robot allowed him to sit straight, resting his back on a box. _"If only I could reach my belt…"_

"Who sent you here? Who are you working for?" Robin asked. The robot did not move. He just stayed there, looking at Robin. _"If that bastard had a face, he would have been smirking mockingly at me,"_ Robin thought. _"I just wish the other Titans are doing better than me."_

Then there was an explosion.

Greater and louder than the one that had caused the alarm to went off.

The lights were completely gone.

And so was a big chunk of the floor.

Neither Robin nor his _watch dog_ expected what occurred next. The wooden floor began cracking from different places. The weight was too much for a cracked floor and the boxes began to slide downwards, forcing the already weak floor to break. Both the robot and Robin were pulled downwards to the hole that was being created on the middle of the room.

The robot tried to grab himself from what he could find but nothing seemed to work until he remembered Robin's utility belt. He put it on and was quick on using one of Robin's grappling hooks to hold himself and prevent him from falling. Robin did not have such luck and was sent to the 3rd floor of the building. He huffed when his back met the concrete floor and cursed.

Before he knew it, the place had become a 3 story building. The fourth floor had completely disappeared and its contents had merged with the third floor. Robin managed to hide from the robot that did not seem to want to following either way. _"I need to get out of here now."_

Cyborg lay on the floor of the first floor while the rest of his body was scattered on the basement and God knew where else. The enemy was smart, too smart. He knew the fight was not going to be easy to win, but he never thought he would lose so miserably. They began by attacking him with their laser guns. Then they had those replicas of his cannons. However, the worst part was the damned metal collar.

The collar not only did it absorb his power cell, but it also managed to prevent him from using any of his gadgets by shocking him everytime he tried to do so. Not to mention the shocking that came once in a while, just for the heck of it. Little by little, the enemy had managed to literally disarm Cyborg until the only thing left was his upper body, one arm and his head. His power cell was dying quickly and so was he if he did not get any help.

"_That little spiky-haired midget! Cyborg's gonna kick his ass when he sees him again!"_ Cyborg thought, trying to cheer himself up. There was not much he could do to help himself. He had no way of communicating with his friends and no way to move around. He prayed and hoped any of the Titans would come and help him. He waited for a miracle that most likely was not going to come.

Cyborg had panicked even more when he began hearing the explosions, both of them coming from the second floor, or so he thought. The first one had not been as bad as the second one. The last explosion was the reason he was laying on the floor, half-dead, in almost complete darkness if it was not for the fire that had began a few minutes ago.

"That is all I needed, a fire to start a few yards away from me!" Cyborg said. "At least the smoke won't get me down here and maybe that will win me time to get found!" Cyborg told himself and tried to believe it. He truly tried to convince himself that he was going to be able to come out of this one alive. That he would get the chance to kick Robin on his…_pride,_ _"Lots and lots of babies, my ass!"_

He wanted to have the chance to tell his friends how much he loved them. He wanted to live, and for the first time, he had the thought of leaving the life of the superhero and starting a normal life of his own. _"I'm getting too old for this or the enemies are getting wise. Probably the first one is the right answer."_ Cyborg sighed.

"Who am I kidding?" He yelled to himself, "I am fucked up! This is it. I came here to _die_," and he closed his eyes in defeat.

"No you have not, friend. I will _not_ allow you to die."

Cyborg's heart skipped a beat.

He felt tears coming to his eyes and did not dare to open them as he spoke.

"Star, is…is that you?"

Cyborg felt his body being lifted with the carefulness only a woman could have. His tears of joy and relief had made his way out and were now streaming down his face. He then felt a soft hand against his cheek, drying the tears. It was then that he opened his eyes to see those green eyes he loved so much. "Starfire…you came back."

Starfire could not force back the tears that came to her from seeing her friend in this condition. "Cyborg, I am glad to see you. What have they done to you?"

"It doesn't matter now, Star. We have to find the others, they are all here. We _hafta_ get them out before this place burns down." Starfire nodded. "I shall take care of that task by myself. I will get you out of this place, away from the fire. Then I shall return and search for our friends. You are in no condition to try to help."

As much as he hated the sound of it, he knew Starfire was right. The damage he had received would not be repaired in a few minutes or days. It would take weeks to get him fixed, if not months until he found someone who was able to understand his technology and had the will and the time to repair him. "Ok, Star. Let's haul ass out of here."

Starfire carried Cyborg and looked for a way to escape. She had come inside from the stairs from the first floor, but the fire had blocked that exit. The basement had no other doors or windows. The only option she had was to make herself an exit. She found a safe place to leave Cyborg, but did not left his side before she spoke to him. "I will have to break through the concrete to get us out. If I use my powers against the fire, it will only make it worse. I will not forget about you. I will come back, I promise." Cyborg nodded.

Starfire flew upwards and began punching and blasting the ceiling. She tried to dig her fingers on it to either pull it down or push it down. Cyborg observed her growl at the effort she was putting. Her punches became faster and harder. She alternated hits with starbolts with the beams from her eyes. Little by little, the crack on the ceiling began getting bigger and bigger, but so did the fire.

"_The smoke…I cannot breathe,"_ Starfire thought. She looked down at Cyborg. His scared face wretched her heart and gave her strength to continue. "Just a little more. One more series of attacks and we shall be out," Starfire told herself while looking at her bleeding knuckles. _"My friends need me."_

Starfire resumed her attacks. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker, and made her attacks grow less intense. Just one more hit was needed to break a hole on the ceiling, yet she could not make herself give that last punch with enough strength to break through. Her eyes burned and her throat and lungs hurt. She tried to stay flying but the smoke forced her to fall on her back to the floor.

"Just one more…I must not give up…I must…"

Then a blue/white sonic ray was seen, followed by a heartbreaking scream. Starfire forced herself to stand up and looked at the now opened ceiling. She then looked to the direction the final blow had come. She saw Cyborg gave her an apologetic smile before his arm fell to the floor, his eyes closed and his power cell died. "Cyborg!"

Starfire flew towards him and lifted him, trying to bring him back. She called his name. She shook him frantically but nothing worked. Starfire began crying and held her friend as close as she could. "I am sorry. Please, please forgive me," and a loud sob escaped her without her realizing it was coming. "Your sacrifice shall not be in vain. I _will _find a way to bring you back."

Starfire carried Cyborg and flew towards the hole using her back to force themselves out. Once on the first floor, the scene only got worse. The fire was not confined to the basement now. It had managed to spread out and was now burning the boxes, weapons and defeated henchmen on the ground. The powder used to create the weapons had been spread but the fire was slowly but surely making its way towards it. All it took was another explosion to make the building disappear_. "The time is running out. I must hurry."_

Starfire flew towards the main door, evading the burning boxes and the half-destroyed henchmen who still tried to hit her with their laser guns. A few of them were able to hit her before reaching the door, giving her a cut on her cheek, one on her back and one on her arm. _"Why does it sting so much?"_

Starfire flew as far as she could from the building and after finding a safe place, she carefully placed Cyborg on the floor. She then got her communicator out and called the police. "This is Starfire from the Teen Titans. I request the department of fire and medical assistance. My friends are hurt, I repeat, _The Titans_ are hurt. I shall send in the coordinates of my location. Please hurry up, there is not much time. The building will explode any minute now. Starfire, out."

Starfire gave Cyborg one last look before she returned to the warehouse. She could not go in through the main door as it was now covered by the fire and fallen debris. Starfire began flying around the building, trying to find a window to break in through. Finally, at the back of the building, on the second floor, she found was she was looking for. Starfire's eyes glowed and she made her way inside the burning building through the window.

She knew her friends were not at the basement or the first floor. She wished they were on this floor and that they were still alive. The smoke was thicker in this floor but she managed to crawl her way on the floor to get air and then fly as high as she could to see her surroundings. She flipped her communicator open to see if she was able to find the coordinates of her friends but, as last time, it proved unsuccessful. The only option left was to scream her friends' names, even if she monopolized her own safety.

"Raven? Beast Boy? Robin?"

No response.

She began pushing the boxes and screaming her friends' names again and again. She encountered some robots but she was able to break them open before they could cause her more damage. She moved another box and found a familiar object on the floor. She picked it up and gasped. It was Raven's belt. "Raven? Raven! Talk to me! I cannot find you! Raven!"

Starfire's search turned frantic. She flew around as quickly as she could and screamed her lungs out with Raven's name. The smoke was getting to her lungs once again and she was forced to fall to her knees, coughing. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists at the soreness on her lungs. If it was not for her Tamarean body, she would have died of suffocation a long time ago.

She opened her eyes once again when she heard her name being called.

"Star-fire?"

"Raven?"

Starfire resumed flying, trying to follow the voice. "Raven, answer me, where are you?"

"Starfire, can you hear me? Starfire I need help!" Raven yelled. Starfire followed the sounds of Raven's voice. She then saw her hand from under a pile of rubble. Starfire gasped, "Raven!" Starfire flew towards the pile and began digging her friend out of there. She pulled Raven put but stopped when she heard her scream. "Starfire, my other arm is broken, please don't pull hard. I am trying to hold Beast Boy with it!"

Starfire nodded. She followed Raven's broken arm until she saw Beast Boy's torn uniform. _"Beast Boy…is he?"_ As if Raven had read Starfire's panicked face, she spoke to her. "He is hurt, Starfire. Really hurt. His arm is broken and who knows what else might be. He has lost much blood and I have not been able to bring him to consciousness. The henchmen beat him up until he got this way. Please, you have to get him out of here. I…I can't fly. They…they put this thing around my neck," Raven said while pointing at the collar. "I can't use my powers without getting shocked. He also had it on when I found him. Those bastards didn't give him a chance to defend himself."

Starfire's head spun rapidly. This was too much to take at once. Cyborg had been deactivated; maybe they would not be able to bring him back. Raven's arm was broken and she could not fly, and now BB was unconscious, probably on the verge of life and death. She still had to find Robin, and she prayed to X'hal that he was still alive.

"Take him first; I can wait a little longer. I'll be here, alright?" Raven said to Starfire and the only thing she could do was nod. Starfire removed the last pieces of wood that were on BB, and she carefully lifted him. _"He feels so lifeless, as if he was merely a doll."_ Starfire gave Raven a last look before flying away from the place through the same window she came in.

She flew back to the place Cyborg was at, and she was relieved to see he was still there. _"I guess the enemy ran away from the scene."_ She placed Beast Boy on the ground and did not waste time to return to Raven. She entered back to the building through the window but the fire was covering most of it, causing Starfire to get some burns.

"_This is nothing compared the loss of one my friends."_ She returned to place Raven was before, only to discover she was no there anymore. _"Oh, no Raven!"_ Starfire began screaming her name, once, twice, and thrice even. She could not have gotten far with a broken arm and with no powers. "Maybe she managed to get rid of the collar."

Starfire continued her search until someone jumped on her, making her fall on a pile of broken boxes. "AH!"

Starfire stood up and turned to see the attacker. It was one of the robots, in fact, this robot seemed different. He wore a familiar belt on his waist. It was Robin's utility belt. Starfire clenched her fists, and her eyes and hand began her well-known green glow. "What have you done with Robin?"

The robot jumped and aimed a flying kick at Starfire who easily evading it with her own flying techniques. "That will not work on me." The robot jumped on top of a box and his hand reached Robin's utility belt. He grabbed a pair of birdarangs and threw them at Starfire. She dodged one, and then the other, but before she could focus her attack back at him, he threw laser discs at her, making her blind for a few second.

"My eyes…I cannot see!"

The robot took advantage of this and threw explosive discs at her. Then more birdarangs, explosive pellets and everything he could find in the belt. Starfire walked aimlessly around the room, her only guide being her ears and the fire she had stepped on twice. _"I cannot throw starbolts if I cannot see, I can make matters worse!"_

The birdarangs cut through her clothes and her skin as if they were made of butter. She even felt one of then pulling her hair, probably had cut a big chunk of it. Starfire's eyes began regaining clear vision, only to see a box thrown at her head. She was hit and fell to the floor with a loud thump. The Tamarean rubbed her head with her right hand while she used her left arm to push herself up. The box, still on her back began lifting as well until the henchman approached her and kicked her ribs.

Starfire cried in pain and hit the floor again. The robot continued to kick her ribs, her hips and her legs. Everytime she tried to defend herself, he would kick even harder and harder. Starfire's eyes began watery when the pain became unbearable. She still had to find Raven and Robin, and she was getting her butt kicked. _"It is like that dreadful night with Slade. It is happening again!"_ The robot finally got tired of hitting her, not before giving her a final kick on her face. Starfire twirled to her left several times until she ended on her back, blood trickling to the floor from her head.

The robot walked to Starfire and placed his foot on her neck with enough force to restring her breathing. Her hands went to his foot, trying to push it up from her in vain. She began kicking him but the lack of air was making her vision blur, diminishing her aim. "Robin, I did not get to see you one last time…tell you…tell you how much I…" and the air returned to her lungs.

The robot was covered in black and was thrown to the back wall of the building. Starfire gasped and saw Raven holding own neck, trying to ease the shocking. Even though she had finished her attack, the shocking continued. Raven had not known that the robot she attacked had the remote to activate/deactivate the collar on everyone's neck. "Ra-Raven," Starfire said and forced herself to stand up. She tried to walk but she was soon to realize that her previously broken ankle had been damaged again.

"What in the name of X'hal!" She whispered. She returned her focus to Raven, who was now on her knees, screaming her lungs out at the pain. "Make it stop, please make it stop!" Raven said in between screams.

Starfire flew towards her and tried to break the collar with her hands, only to be shocked herself. She tried again and again, ending with the same results. "It will not come off! Raven what can I do?"

"Get me out of here and find Robin. We haven't seen him; he could be in grave danger. Find him, Starfire. You must find him!" Raven said before she passed out from the pain. Her body felt limply on Starfire's arms. Starfire held her friend and noticed the collar had stopped torturing her. She carried Raven on her shoulder and exited the place, leaving Raven next to Beast Boy and Cyborg. Now she had to find Robin. He had to find him before the place burned down.

Starfire entered through the roof window. She noticed the floor had been broken and was now almost completely gone. The 4th and 3rd floor were practically merged, making it difficult to tell what was up and what was down. She continued her search for Robin more frantic than before. The place was almost gone and the floors were almost covered in burning debris. Her heart began racing at the thought of not being able to find Robin in time. This could not end this way. She was supposed to come back and find her friends at home, arguing about video games and tofu. She was not supposed to find them _half-dead_ in a burning building.

Starfire's eyes filled with tears she had tried to hold back. She wanted to find Robin but he was nowhere to be seen or heard. She screamed his name, hoping he would reply but he did not. _"Robin, I am back! Please do not leave me now, I need you!"_

Suddenly her back was kicked. She arched it before flying to a box, hit her hip on it, was bent over it and ended on the other side. She landed on her arm, crashing her landing and twisting her limb on the process.

Starfire screamed. The robot walked to her and kicked the box that was in between the alien and himself. Starfire panicked. There she was, with a twisted arm, a broken ankle, cuts, and a bleeding head. The robot did not waste any time and placed the metal collar on Starfire's neck. _"NO! I need my powers to find Robin, this cannot be happening! Not now!"_ The collar shocker her as soon as her eyes began gathering energy to use her starbolts against him.

The robot lifted his leg, aiming another kick to Starfire's face. She was defenseless now: hurt, broken in more ways than one and without powers. She closed her eyes to wait for the kick and when it hit her, she felt her face going numb. The robot did not give her any chance to compose herself and kicked her again. Starfire could not fight back anymore. She was in so much pain the only thing she could do was to sob and cry.

The robot prepared another kick than never really occurred.

The robot was thrown away from her.

She heard a thump in front of her.

Then someone whispered her name, "Starfire."

And the world suddenly stopped.

Everything became silent in her mind and the only thing that echoed in her head was her name. She recognized that voice. She _loved_ that voice. "Robin?"

Starfire opened her eyes and saw him, looking straight back at her. He was laying on the floor, his chest on the floor. His face was turned to her, and his eyes were locked on hers. Neither of them dared to break the moment. They had waited for this moment for months. The moment where they would finally be reunited and they could tell each other how much their hearts and souls had been torn while the other was away.

Starfire sobbed. "Robin…I…," she could not speak. The feelings were too deep, engraved in her soul. The happiness and relief of seeing him alive was too much. "You are back, you came back to me!" Robin said, half smiling. Starfire nodded.

She forced her beaten up body to crawl to him. She used her good arm to pull herself and ignored the pain the crawling had on her leg. Robin's smile only got brighter but he could not move that easily. _"She came back…she's here…I have to hold her…at least one last time."_ Robin also forced himself to sit up. Starfire reached him and the first she did was to hold him.

Robin held her back with his good arm. He pressed his body against her, both of the on their knees. He dug his face on her neck, taking every ounce of her scent, breathing her intoxicating smell. He caressed her neck with this cheek and gave her shoulder a series of quick kisses. She used her good arm and combed his hair with her fingers, enjoying the feeling of being in Robin's arms.

"You changed hair gels?" Starfire asked. Robin pulled back and looked at her green eyes. "Yes, I bought the expensive one," he joked. Starfire smiled. Robin could not take it any longer, he had to kiss her. Even at a moment like this, his lips urged to taste hers. He had waited for this moment for a long time and he was not going to let it go by. He began tilting his head and closing the distance between them. Starfire began closing her eyes as well, waiting for the kiss to take place.

Then they were broke apart.

Or _were _broken apart from each other.

Starfire fell on her back, Robin's body laying on top of hers after a few seconds. Everything occurred too fast for her to realize. Their old friend the robot had returned. He had tried to kick Starfire from behind, but Robin was able to push her away from it. His head had been the one who received the impact instead, making him fall on Starfire. "Robin, why did you do that? You are already hurt and then you get yourself hurt for me? I can take the hits better than you, why did you do that!"

Robin smiled and whispered on Starfire's ear. "I have a hard head, you know? I didn't hurt that much." He chuckled before continuing. "Besides, I wasn't gonna let him hurt you. I wasn't gonna let him take you away from me. He would have to _kill_ me first."

"Robin…"

Then she saw him. The robot was back, this time aiming his attack at Robin's back. She had to do something. She had to think fast. She could try to move Robin's body and place her own body on top of him to protect him but she could not move Robin that fast without seriously injuring him even more. Allowing Robin to receive the impact was not an option either. She was left with one option and she was going to take it.

Starfire hugged Robin with her good arm before whispering to him, "Do not move, Robin. Trust me. I will protect you." Robin closed his eyes. He had to let her do it this time. He could not even help himself but he could trust her. He was never going to doubt her ever again.

She lifted her arm and aimed at the coming attacker. She felt her eyes glowing green and her energy being gathered on her eyes and fists. The collar began shocking her as she did. _"I must not show Robin that I am hurting. It will only take one hit. On hit and this shall be over."_ Starfire clenched her teeth to not scream in pain but her eyes betrayed her and she began crying.

"Starfire, why are you crying?"

"Hold on to me. Please do not let go."

The robot was closer now, his hit almost too close to evade. Yet, the Tamarean could handle it. She allowed her starbolt and eye beams to let lose, hitting the robot. The henchman was thrown to the fire and Robin's utility belt fell a few feet away from them. Starfire smiled and released the breath she had been holding. "It is over, Robin. He is gone."

Robin began lifting himself. Starfire began getting dizzy; her body stopped responding her and her eyes closed. Robin saw this and called her name. "Starfire, wake up! What happened?" and he saw the collar on her neck. _"She, she used her powers…she got hurt…all because of me. I have to get her out, somehow."_

Robin lifted himself and saw his belt. His eyes went from the belt, to Starfire to the roof. There was a window on the opposite wall. _"If my belt still has a grappling hook, I can get her out of here. If I have two, we can both escape."_ Robin pushed himself up and stood on his good leg. "Robin," Starfire whispered, "Don't leave me…"

"Never, I am getting us out of here. You are too weak to move and I can't carry you in my condition. But I have a plan, trust me."

"I do."

Robin smiled at her and dragged himself to the belt. He lifted it and began tossing its contents on the floor. "Pellets, birdarangs, laser discs…" Robin told himself. Finally, he found what he was looking for, and something else. _"Raven's penny, she'll kill me if I leave it here."_

He eyed the three grappling hooks on the floor. He frowned and grabbed one of them and Robin's penny as well. He then returned to Starfire and began lifting her up. "Starfire, I need you to stay with me for a while longer, I need you to hold this for me," Robin said and gave her the penny. Starfire looked at it with a questioning look before her eyes began to close again. "Star, please, just a little longer, I promise I will let you rest in a few more minutes."

He placed the penny and shot the hook towards the window. The hook broke the window and attached itself to the wall. _"This will make it will swing and it will throw her away from here."_

"Robin, are you coming with me?"

"No, I'll go after you. I have more hooks over there. As soon as you are out, I'll do the same to get myself out, k? Wait for me outside, I'll be out right after you."

"No, you are coming with me."

"Starfire, I can't go with you, at least not at the same time."

"But Robin…" and her ranting was stopped with a kiss from him. She felt her body weaken even more at the power of his touch. He deepened the kiss enough to get her distracted and tie the rope around her. After this was done, he kissed her some more before breaking the kiss. All he had to do now was let her go and she would be taken away from him and down in to safety outside the building.

"Robin…I lo—," but he placed a finger on her lips before he stoke, "Eir bohan luk rand'ir, Starfire," and he let her go. Starfire screamed his name while being swung away from him. She was sent flying through the window landed yards away from the crumbling building. Her friends were not we she had left them anymore. The last thing she heard before she passed out were people screaming The Titans' names, red and white lights flashing and the sound of an explosion…and the darkness surrounded her mind.

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**Happy Winter Holidays to everyone! gives glomps of doom**


	15. Mourning After

**A/N: **Nope, still not mine. Did you guys know TT is coming to an end this month? That sucks, big time. New episode tomorrow! sniff

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**Chapter 14**

Mourning After

"_We are still missing two! You think they are still inside?"_

"_I sure hope not, that building will not last any longer."_

"_Look! Someone is coming out!"_

_A girl dressed in purple appeared from the building, swung aimlessly on the air and landed a few feet away from the firefighters and paramedics. "It's Starfire…bring a gurney here, right now!"_

_BANG!_

_The crowd gasped and took cover. "God Almighty!" one of the paramedics said. "We need more trucks to stop the fire. The place will burn down by itself but we need to control it anyway. We can't allow it to spread," a firefighter ordered._

_She felt her body being carefully moved. Straps and braces were put on her body. She wanted to move but she could not. The pain; the pain was excruciating, even for a strong alien like her. "She has one of those metal necklaces as well? These kids were set up!"_

_"Has anyone found Robin?" a cop asked. Everyone shook his head. "No, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven were here when we arrived. Starfire must have gotten them out one by one, she was the one who called us after all." The paramedic continued to examine Starfire who was still half asleep, half awake. _

_"Her condition is bad but not as the other two. I think the green little kid is the worst one of them all. He was beaten up to almost death. Raven is the one with fewer injuries, and I don't even know what we will do about Cyborg. I don't even know what is wrong with him; I don't know if he is dead or just turned off!"_

_"What about her? What's her status? What is that thing that was around her waist?" the cop asked. The paramedic examined the rope and frowned. He did not like the looks of this._

_"She has a twisted ankle, a broken arm, several cuts and bruises. She also has a big bump on her head; we will probably need to check it out more in depth. The hit seems deep. This rope was what brought her out…I thought both of the girls could fly. I wonder why she didn't fly out."_

_The police officer grabbed the rope and started to pull it towards himself. At the end of the rope was a grappling hook. He frowned. He knew he had seen this before and he did not like it. He grabbed his radio and called his superior. "Sir, I have something here that you might want to check out."_

_The Chief, who was making sure the other Titans were taken to the best hospital in Jump City, made the final arrangements and walked towards the officer who had just called him. "What is it, officer?"_

_The police officer lifted the grappling hook and showed it to his superior, his face showing a slight feeling of despair combined with hope. "Do you recognize this, sir?" The Chief took the weapon from his officer's hand and gave it a good, long look. When the same realization that the cop had, dawned on the Chief he frowned a little, but his face was immediately changed to one of sadness when his eyes fell on the Tamarean._

_"Where did you find this?"_

_"It was wrapped around her waist."_

_The Chief's frown deepened. "Do you who this belongs too, officer Marshall?" The officer nodded. "I was kinda hoping you would prove my theory wrong."_

_The Chief shook his head. "He probably got her out of there before he tried himself. **He** is the only one who can manage to use these things and **make** them do whatever **he** wants them to do." The officer nodded. "Do you think he…was still inside…when the place exploded?"_

_The Chief sighed. "I want to say no, but you know how that kid was…is…willing to do. He would put his teammates' safety before his. I am pretty sure she went in to rescue him, but it was him who ended up rescuing her," he swallowed hard before continuing, "Order a thoroughly search of this place…if anyone was inside when the thing blew off I want to be the first one to find out about it. If you **do** find someone, make sure you check, check, re-check and then check again. Do you understand?" The officer nodded._

_"Now, take her to the hospital, the same one her…friends…are at. I already told these people a thousand times but it never hurts to restate it. I want the best medical care for these kids, we owe them big time."_

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The memories of last night came in flashing chunks to her mind. She remembered the sounds, the voices, some blurry images and the dreaded line _"Has anyone found Robin?" _over and over again. Her body felt heavier than ever. Unbeknown to her, she had been given a considerable amount of pain killers and calming pills. She had woken up, halfway during her trip to the hospital. The sight had confused and frightened her more than the fire had. _"So many people around me…but Robin were nowhere to be seen."_

She had tried to sit up straight but the paramedics pushed her down to her back. She was too confused and too hurt to push them all away from her. Besides, she only required one piece of information, _"Where is Robin?"_ she groggily asked them.

The paramedics did not answer her question. She was told to relax and stop moving. They told her she was in no condition to be forcing herself to be doing anything. They asked her to sit down and shut up. _"I must know where he is!" _She screamed at them. She did not know if he had come out of the building right after her saved her, _"He saved me…did he save himself as well?"_

She began thrashing and pulling the plugs of the machines tied to her. There was a yell from someone in the front, _"She's gonna make me crash with all that movement, make her stop!"_

Then the stings came. She felt both of her arms itch and her eyes fell on the two paramedics who had shot both her arms to stop her. _"Robin…I beg of you…I must know if he…made it…"_ were her last words before her body failed her, her eyes closed and she collapsed on the gurney before she heard one last sentence before passing out: _"I think I heard Robin died…he got her out, but he didn't make it out himself."_

Her memories were cut short when she heard the steady beeping sound of a machine. She strained her ears, trying to listen to something else but there was nothing else to hear. She knew she was not dead because she felt her own breathing. She could not entirely feel her body but the sensations were slowly returning to her. Her mind slowly traveled the path made from her head to her toes, trying to make sense of how badly hurt she was.

She felt the cold air around her. It was not _naturally_ cold, and it was not felt from her waist down. She began moving her fingers, and she felt the soft fabric above and beneath her. She then moved her toes. For some reason, the movement made her leg hurt a little bit. It was as if her nerves had been pinched with the small movement she attempted to make.

She took a deep and raspy breath with her mouth. The taste in her mouth made her gag. Her entire mouth felt filthy and her tongue felt numb. She exhaled. _"I fee like if I have not moved in days."_

It was time to open her eyes. Her eyelids were as heavy as her body but she refused to continue seeing the darkness and the nightmares it brought. She opened her eyes a little and they closed again against her will. She tried several more times until she was able to keep them open, even if she was squinting. The lights burned her eyes as they felt dry as if sand had gone inside them. She blinked several times to adjust her sight. She then saw the familiar mask in front of her.

"Robin…you are alive…" she whispered. The masked boy in front of her did not move. _"Am I merely dreaming?"_ she thought before calling his name again, this time louder so that he would hear her, "Robin?" and it worked.

"Starfire? I can't believe you are awake! Doctors said you wouldn't wake up! Those bastards!" the masked boy said and approached her. He grabbed her cast hand and she gladly accepted it. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the light. He placed his other hand on her face. "Starfire, you have a pretty ugly bump there…what happened?"

"Robin…what do you mean what happened? You were there, were you not? Do you not remember all the atrocities we went through? That robotic henchman was almost invincible."

The boy frowned. "Starfire, I'm not Robin. I'm Speedy."

Starfire froze. She pulled her loosen hand to her eyes and rubbed them eagerly, ignoring the pain it caused to rub her face. Her eyes began watering at the realization that, in fact, the masked man in front of her was not Robin, but the friendly archer instead. "Speedy…where is Robin? What are you doing here?"

Speedy's face fell for mere seconds at the sound of the fearless leader's name. He tried to hide his ache from Starfire. She was still too weak to hear the news. He did not believe she would be able to take it, at least not at the moment. "What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm here to take care of you! Don't tell me you don't enjoy the company of this handsome guy?" He said and smirked. Starfire forced a weak smile before she spoke.

"Where are…my friends?" she tried her question differently this time. Speedy sat on the side of her bed without letting go of her. He knew she was strong, very strong. He also knew that what he was about to tell her was not going to be of the likes of her. He did not think he would be able to stop her from moving, but he at least was going to try. _"From all the Titans, I am assigned to the one that can easily kick my ass."_

"Starfire, I need you to relax and let me finish what I have to say. What I have to tell you is not very pretty but promise me you will not kick me in the nuts and fly away from here until you hear me out." Starfire nodded.

Speedy took at deep breath before continuing his side of the story. "Look, we don't know what happened with you guys, but by the looks of your conditions, it wasn't good, was it?" Starfire shook her head and looked down. Speedy sighed. "The police department received your call and they were on their way as soon as the call had ended. However, the place where you guys were at was pretty far away, that's why they were late." Starfire's eyes bugged open, "L-late?"

"You guys were already passed out on the grass, well, at least Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy were. For what I was told, you were the last one to come out. Police believes you were the one who got them out from the fire…is this true?" Starfire nodded and Speedy waited for clarification from her side. "They…they were in very bad shape. I found Cyborg first, he was mutilated beyond belief. We were trapped inside the basement, where I found him, but he saved us. It cost him his last amount of energy…did…did he m-make it?"

Speedy nodded. "He _is_ alive, if that is what you ask. As you said, he was broken in many little pieces. The fire burned down everything else; all he has is what you took him out of there with."

Starfire felt the tears build. She gulped. "Has he been taken care of?" Speedy shook his head. "None of the people here know how to repair him. It wasn't until yesterday that a guy named Fixit appeared out of nowhere. He said he owes Cyborg a favor, and that when he saw the news on TV, he made his way here to repair him. Scientist here made what they could to keep his human side of the brain alive but it's not until this weird guy restores him that we will know if Cyborg's gonna be alright."

"When is the repairing starting?"

"Tomorrow morning. Right now the Fixit guy is getting an impromptu lab in one of the rooms here at the hospital, so he can start tomorrow."

Starfire sighed in partial relief. There was still a chance Cyborg would be alright. Hope was not lost yet. All she needed to know now were the conditions of her other friends. She was about to ask about Robin again when Speedy interrupted her thoughts. "Who did you save then?"

Starfire actually gave it some thought. For some reason, the scenario seemed like if it had occurred months ago; the details were a little bit blurry on the back of her mind. "I believe I found Raven and Beast Boy, together, under a pile of boxes. Beast Boy was unconscious, so I first got him out of the place. What is his condition?"

Speedy's grip on her hand tightened and Starfire felt her heart stop. BB had been truly injured and she feared the worst. "He had many, many bruises and had lost much blood. Doctors didn't give us much hope, but the little guy pulled through. He hasn't woken up yet, he's in a comma but he is doing much better. Raven donated blood for him and spends every day next to him. She says she is helping him find his way back, whatever that means."

Starfire nodded. She knew what Raven was doing. She was using her powers to travel inside BB's mind to find him and then help him regain consciousness. "This means Raven is also, alright?"

Speedy nodded. "Yup, she was also unconscious but she went into a trance; scared the shit out of the nurses when she started levitating. Her arm is still broken but she is doing much better." Speedy knew what was coming and he did not like it, _"Why the hell did they assign **me **to tell her?"_

"…and…Robin?"

Finally, she asked. There was no one else to ask for. He _had_ to answer her question; otherwise, she would start using Tamarean resorts on him. However, her Tamarean training did not prepare her for his reply. "We…don't know," was his answer.

Starfire's eyebrows furrowed at his response, and she swore she saw Speedy flinch at her reaction. "What do you mean you do _not_ know?"

"Well, Police Chief assumed he had gotten you out of there…"

"He did."

"But he didn't come out after you did."

"He did not?"

"No, the place exploded after that, almost immediately."

"What?"

"Uhm…"

Starfire clenched her fists. She wanted to cry so badly. She also wanted to fly from the room and start the search for him. She knew that people did not just disappear without a trace. _"Earthlings do not have the best methods to find their missing. I am sure I can do a better job than them."_

"The building was rather big. Surely they cannot say he is not there, somewhere around it, with _one_ day of looking for him."

"Starfire, it's _been_ 15 days. You were asleep for _two_ weeks."

Starfire felt her heart skip a beat and her eyes began glowing a bright green. Speedy was wrong. Everyone was wrong. This was not happening. How could life be so unfair with her? Allow her to get a mysterious disease, become cured and then come back to lose what she treasured the most?

"This is a mistake. They have not looked in the right places. Did they try the communicator?"

"Yes. But there was no signal."

"How many people are searching for him?"

"At first it was only Jump City police but when the news was given to the people, the police department from different cities started to search as well. Even civilians have been looking for him, but so far there has been no luck."

"Why are _you__not_ looking for him?"

Speedy knew this question was coming. Titans East were called upon as soon as the Titans arrived to the hospital. No one knew who or how to contact relatives from the Titans, so the closest thing they could find was the Titans East. They had been there everyday since then, almost all day, taking turns to keep the Titans some company.

He remembered how confusing everything had been when they were first called. The Police Department had almost no clue of what had truly happened inside the warehouse. There was almost no evidence left and no human bodies found. They were glad that the weapons Raven told them they had found had been burned down along with the building. Yet, they also knew that the possibility of another existing warehouse like that was plausible.

To make matters worse, the Brotherhood of Evil had began operations around the globe and the Titans East were called to intervene just two days ago. They had agreed to take care of the matter as long as they got 3 more days with the Titans. If no one else woke up or if Robin did not appear by tomorrow, they would still _have_ to leave, regardless of how much they hated leaving their friends alone.

When Raven woke up, they had to accept they felt relieved. She had been interviewed by the Police Department several times, trying to clear this mess up. Titans East had also helped in the search for anything that would lead to Robin's whereabouts but they believed they helped more by being by their sides. Everyone was surprised when Raven told them what the metal collars were for. It was now clear to the people investigating the situation that the Titans had been set up.

They now knew that the real aim of the enemy who had not revealed himself was not to destroy the city, at least not anytime soon. If he had wanted to take over the city, the only thing he had to do was to send a few of those cannons around the city and kill everyone in it. The true plan for now was to get rid of the Titans, and they _almost_ did.

Removing the collars had been another issue during the past days. They had to be almost surgically removed and this added more drama to the entire story. Luckily, all operations to remove the necklace had been a success and as soon as Raven was free to use her powers, she began helping her friends as much as she could to get better soon.

"We have been looking for him but we were called to take care of a very special mission to save the world 2 days ago."

"Why are you still here, then?"

"We wanted to see if any of you had any clue about who did this to you. Maybe this suicide attempt is linked to the enemy we were called to take care of."

Starfire bit her lip. Truth was that the abandoned warehouse _was_ their _only_ link and it was now gone. They had come up clue empty-handed. The only things they had gotten from the warehouse were hurt comrades, broken spirits and a missing leader. Starfire shook her head. "The Titans arrived there to make some sense of the enemy. That warehouse was all we had. When I got back from Tamaran, I arrived at the Tower but no one was home. It was then that I located the communicator's signals and was able to hear Robin distress call. I flew there as fast as I could, fearing I was too late."

"You weren't. You should be proud of that! You saved your friends, Starfire."

"Not all of them. I lost the most valuable person to me there, and there is nothing I can do at the moment. I must first see that my friends are going to be alright to feel the freedom to leave them and begin my own search."

"I'm sorry, Starfire."

"I am sorry too. Is…is Raven busy? I wish to speak with her."

Speedy nodded. "I'll go find her, she must be with Beast Boy," he answered. "If she is performing the searching ritual, please do not disturb her."

"I don't think she will mind. She did come and helped you find your way back too, you know?" Starfire smiled. _"Poor Raven, she had to take care of us…all of us…all by herself. Even though she is strong, I know this must have been so hard on her; especially not knowing if we were going to survive."_

Speedy left her side and the room. Starfire then looked at herself. She had a cast on her previously broken leg and one on her arm. She also had several bandages on and could feel her face was still swollen. She lifted her hand and touched the place where the bigger bump was and felt the stitches around it. She also had bandages on her cheek and arm and stomach, where the birdarangs had struck her. Her entire body felt sore but it was nothing compared to what she had felt that night when Robin saved her.

Starfire closed her eyes._ "Robin…"_ she touched her lips, remembering that last moment they spent together. _"Robin…I lo—," but he placed a finger on her lips before he spoke, "Eir bohan luk rand'ir, Starfire," and he let her go._

Starfire sighed. _"He said he loved me in Tamarean, he only heard me say it once. I did not think he would remember it."_

"He is not dead. He is lost but not dead. I will find him, even if takes me my entire life," she said. The doorknob twisted, catching Starfire's attention. She waited patiently until the door was opened and revealed a tired Raven. She was in her usual attire but she had visible dark circles under her eyes, a cast on her arm and several bandages around her body. Other than that she looked…normal…_Raven-like_ normal.

"You would never think a cast will give you so much shit, would you?" Starfire giggled at Raven's comment while she closed the door behind her. "Raven, how are you feeling?" Raven sat on Starfire's bed and allowed a sigh of relief to escape her lips. "I'm ok but you are the one that has been lazy for two weeks. How are _you _feeling?"

Starfire smiled. "I feel a little numb here and there…my vision was quite blurry at the beginning but it is better now. I hear our friends are going to be ok, yes?" Raven nodded. "Fixit just told me Cyborg is going to be alright but that it will take several weeks to repair him. Beast Boy is doing almost as fine. I have been able to talk to him during our physic sessions but he still refuses to come out. He is quite scared and I don't blame him. It was a scary situation what he lived there. But I see progress; at first he wouldn't even talk to me."

"Any luck finding Robin?" Starfire asked. She did not need to ask her if she was even attempting to find him because she knew she was. Raven shook her head and looked at the floor. "Not yet. It's like he disappeared from the face of Earth but that can't be possible. If he…if he hadn't made it alive I would have known…he is still out here…somewhere."

Starfire nodded. "Is the police believing you?" Raven chuckled. "Of course not! They say I see what I want to see; that my ideas are based on my hope to find Robin alive and nothing more. They would never understand it, anyway. So I don't bother correcting them." Starfire giggled.

"The Titans of the East will leave tomorrow to fulfill their duties. I feel better now; I might be out before the week is over. I can start searching for Robin then." Raven gave her a sympathetic smile. _"It must be killing her that she didn't get the time to be with Robin. She only came here to see him…disappear without a trace."_ Raven felt bad for her old friend, for all of her friends for that matter.

Raven lifted her good arm and reached Starfire's shoulder to offer sympathy. As soon as she touched it, Raven felt the air being sucked out of her lungs. The feeling was horrible and it reminded her of that day on the roof of the Tower. The last thing she heard was Starfire's voice calling her name after gasping in shock.

_"No! Not again!" Raven said in her trance state. She felt a bitter cold surrounding her, too cold for it to be the AC in the hospital anymore. There was no wind, just the cold sensation that surrounded her body. The air was slowly coming back to its rightful place and Raven felt her chest thank the batch of incoming air._

_"Why am I having this vision now? Is Starfire in danger? Is someone else going to get hurt?" Raven's mind raced with millions of question that had no answer yet. She blinked several times, trying to get as many clues as she could from the vision beginning to take place in her mind. "This time I will figure out what will happen! I should have done it last time and I the price I paid for my lack of attention was high. It's not happening again!"_

_Raven focused on all the colors and sounds that surrounded her. She closed her eyes to concentrate better and was able to hear a distinct sound at the distance. The sound was first distorted and echoed in the place she was standing on until it became clearer and clearer. It sounded as if someone was tapping metal. It was a light and constant tapping. Her eyes closed harder as her mind was able to recognize the sound._

_"It's water. A faucet or something was left partially opened. Drops of water are plummeting."_

_Raven opened her eyes and began walking towards the place the sound came. She walked slowly at first; trying to decide if the way she was walking to was correct. Once she was positive she was heading in the correct way, she began a light jog and then ran. "It's getting closer, I can hear it louder. I'm almost there!"_

_The sound stopped. Raven frowned. She was sure she was on the right place; the sound had desisted for other reasons. Her senses were then attacked by a weird smell. Her nostrils tried to decipher the possible origin of the odor. "It smells like…old…humid…someplace that hasn't been opened in a while."_

_Suddenly, her surroundings changed. The place changed from being pitch black to becoming a dark blue. There were blurry images around her. She could not distinguish what the images were, but she could tell the colors. "Brown…red…yellow…black…green…it smells like hot cocoa!"_

_Raven tried to gather as much details as she could. She did not recognize the place. It did not smell like the Tower and it didn't look like it either. Last time she had envisioned a place that she had never seen before. At that moment, the feelings and colors did not make sense to her at all. Later on she found out what each of the details she had seen meant. "Beast Boy's scream, the fire, the fallen ceiling…the warehouse…"_

_Raven was not going to make the same mistake twice. If someone was giving her the chance to save her friends from another tragedy like the one they were in at the moment, she was going to take advantage of it. "We already lost Robin…we can't afford another mistake like this ever again."_

_Raven's thoughts were interrupted when her vision crashed down. It was if it had been made of glass and something had shattered it. The crashing was followed by drops of water that came pouring down as if they were made of ice. Raven closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands for a few seconds before the water attack ended._

_"What the hell was that? Last time was fire…now water? Are we going to drown?" Raven shook her head and opened her senses once again to welcome the new cues that were presented to her. The place she was at turned pitch black again. A sound was heard; something had been dropped, it crashed. Then there was another sound…a beeping. "That's not a communicator beeping…it sounds like…it's very similar to…"_

"Raven…?"

_"Starfire?" Raven thought. "No, the sound, I have to figure out what it is…" the beeping continued and it began going at a faster beat. _"Raven, please…I beg you!"

_"Dammit! Starfire! Let me listen!" _Raven said to herself before feeling yanked off the place she was and her vision dissipated. Raven opened her eyes and blinked several times. She saw Starfire with tears on her face and her hands clenched together in her chest. "Raven, are you alright?"

Raven stood up and soon realized she was on the floor. Starfire was sitting on her own bed, as close to the edge as the casts allowed her. "Raven, can you hear me?"

Raven looked around the room. Everything was still on its place. Nothing had been moved, and Starfire seemed relaxed enough. "Uhm…?"

"Raven, you kind of…passed out on me. You touched me, your eyes rolled back and you fell on the floor…did I hurt you somehow?" Raven shook her head. Starfire dried her tears. She returned to the edge of Starfire's bed and took a deep breath before talking. She had to explain the Tamarean what had occurred and how what she had seen seconds ago might turn out to be useful for them.

"Look, Starfire, I…I had a, a vision." Starfire tilted her head. "A…_vision_? Is this vision similar to the one you had with Terra or…" Starfire dared not to finish her sentence. She knew how much Raven had suffered with Trigon's dilemma. She did not want to bring hurtful memories back.

"Similar to Terra's when I touched her that night she returned. Only that this time I didn't see anything clearly and it was slower." Starfire frowned, "Maybe you are just tired, Raven. You should take a rest. You have been watching all of us and have not given yourself time to relax." Raven shook her head.

"No, look…I had one of these visions, back at the Tower before the…incident happened. I saw the warehouse and felt the fire…I didn't know what I was looking at back then but I was soon to find out what it meant…but it was too late."

Starfire's face changed into that of anger. She sighed deeply to control her upsetting feeling before speaking again. "You were not late…our friend will get better and we _will _find Robin."

Raven's face did not change. She ignored Starfire's comment and resumed speaking as if she had never spoken. She would deal with Starfire's denial later. "All I am saying is that I saw what happened before it happened. I just had another vision when I touched you. I don't know what it means but it might hold the key to preventing another disaster. Do you want to help me figure it out?"

Starfire nodded; her eyes on her cast. "Indeed, tell me exactly what it is that you saw."

Raven sighed and began explaining every single detail of what her vision had been. Starfire nodded and asked specific questions. Raven was able to answer some but others she just shrugged. The more she explained, the more she thought it was going to be impossible to find a name or location for this place. _"Maybe I do need to rest."_

Raven finished her explanation and waited for Starfire to say anything. Starfire tapped her chin with her index finger and looked around herself, as if trying to picture the surroundings Raven had just described to her. She frowned. "This place sounds so…random. I cannot recall any place with those characteristics. Is there a way to make the vision come back? Maybe you can get a better look if you were to see it once again?"

Raven nodded. "I can try touching again…or mediating. Last time I slowed the vision down by meditating but it took a lot from me. Why don't we wait until tomorrow? This way I can see that Cyborg's repairing begin, I can thank Titans East for staying with us before they leave and I can have another session with Beast Boy."  
"Sounds about right; I feel tired, though. Is it alright with you if I take the nap?" Raven smiled. "Sure, I should take _the nap_ myself as well." Raven stood up and walked to the door. She opened it and took a last glance at Starfire before walking out. Raven stopped before closing the door, and without looking back, gave Starfire a last comment. "I'm glad you are back…I was beginning to get…lonely."

Starfire smiled and Raven closed the door. Starfire sighed and returned to her sleeping position. She now had a clue…she was getting better. She knew what she had to do. _"I am sorry friend. I know the location of the place you saw…and I must return to it…alone."_


	16. Regression

**A/N: **Don't own the Titans and at this rate never will. This story is being rearranged and will end in about 5-10 chapters, depending on how I decide to reorganize it :) Thanks for reading! Thanks Spoon and Ooka for helping me proofread it:GLOMPS:

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**Chapter 15**

Regression

I forced my body to climb down the bed. Its warmth and comfort had made my decision to stand up just a little bit more difficult. I knew I had a job to do…no, _two_ jobs; perhaps more than three? Regardless of the amount of tasks I was required to do, this particular one had to go first. If I acted like Robin and thought things through, I would have stayed here and see to my friends' wellbeing before anything else. Secondly, I would have planned a search mission to find Robin. Once Robin had been found, I would have aid him and the rest of the Titans in stopping this evil who had nearly _murdered _us. Then, after all these tasks had been completed, I would have returned to the place I am going to now. Unfortunately, I did not listen to my mind that often. I mostly relied on my heart's desire.

I made sure no one was outside and that Raven was out of reach before closing the door and locking myself in. I did not need any witnesses or followers. I was not in the mood to give any sort of explanations for my behavior, and I certainly did not want to reveal to anyone my destination. This was a trip I had to make on my own. I never thought I would return to this place but I had been given a sign. Raven had ignored the signs she had been given before the _accident _and her mistake had taken its toll on us. I was not going to allow a mistake made by me affect my friends. If X'hal said I had to return to my second home, I would do as told to. Even though X'hal had failed me lately, I was not going to defy his will; at least not at the moment I was not. I was going to take advantage of the night. Earthlings tend to sleep during the night. I would have done so too, but it was now or never.

Earth's hospital garments are very uncomfortable. I decided to first to go home and change. I felt as if I was only wearing a towel. I felt rather _exposed_. I arrived to our Tower and made myself comfortable inside the elevator that would take me to the living room. I waited patiently as the little room lifted and the doors opened to reveal the familiar scene. The room was as if it had not been abandoned for several weeks. Everything was clean and in place; including the dishes who Beast Boy always complained about washing. If I had arrived today, instead of two weeks ago, would this have been the scene I had come to find? Had my friends managed to escape the fire? For a split moment, the environment inside the Tower made me feel like if time had stopped.

I know this feeling was not accurate as I was truly aware of the situation we were all in. Beast Boy is in a comma, Cyborg is between life and death, Robin is lost, and Raven is having a strenuous time suppressing her feelings when I know all she wishes to do is to cry her eyes out. And then there is me. I am healthy enough to move, conscious enough to think, and alive enough to want to move on. What if I had not felt the sudden urge to return to Earth that day? What if I had return to visit my friends' graves today? I would have never forgiven myself for it. I would have preferred to die with them. I would have felt lonely and lost.

Yet, the events that took place had been different from this horrible scenario. I knew my friends were alive, or at least fighting to stay alive. Robin was missing but that did not mean he was…_dead_. We just had to look for him in the right place and he would surely come back to us, and lead us in the task of stopping this enemy who _almost_ succeeded in annihilate us. He should have taken advantage of the opportunity he had. The only thing he has gained is our loathing. As soon as we are able to recover, we will make sure he wished he had never messed with the Titans.

I continued my way to my dwelling and tried to not allow memories to haze my mind. I was not going to have a breakdown now; it was not the best time to do so, even if the events were too overwhelming. My friends needed me in one piece and as sane as possible. They had tried to save and _had_ saved me several times before. It was now my turn to saved their lives and their souls.

I was surprised to see that my room was intact and was the same way I had left it. When I returned, I did not have the opportunity to go back in. But now I that I was inside it, I felt relived to be home once again. I would never leave my home again. This was where I belonged and this was the place I was going to stay. I walked directly to my closet and gathered the necessary clothing and before I knew it, I was dressed and ready to leave. Not even the soreness that my body felt stopped me from quickly flying through my window and head to my real destination. "It will not take long," I told myself…and I truly wanted to believe it.

For what had been the longest time ever, I allowed myself to freely fly on the skies of the city I cherished so much. It was true that I had flown in the skies of Tamaran and the star-filled skies of outer space, but nothing compared to flying on Earth. The air was clean, and the wind ran through my hair, skin and ears, giving me those shivers I always felt when flying above the city. The rush of adrenaline was something I always found exciting, especially when I held Robin in my hands, getting ready for battle.

I carefully eyed the ground, hoping I would find Robin walking around, lost in confusion, somewhere in the city he guarded with his life. "I love this city, _my_ city," he had told me once. It was true that he did not own the city but criminals knew this was Robin's city, the Titans' city, and that messing with it meant messing with us. Few had tried to overcome us and took over the city. Even if sometimes they had almost been successful, we eventually triumphed and protected the city and the people who lived in it. People who we cared for…and who cared for us.

Jump City: _our_ city, _our _home. How long would we stay here? How long would they host our presence? No one really knew. All we _did_ know was that as long as evil lurked in the dark alleys of our town, the Titans would always be there to bring light to the dim hall.

I kept flying and before I knew it, I had arrived to the old building. From the sky above, it seemed like nothing more than an abandoned warehouse. For occasional bystanders, this was nothing more than a forgotten place, but for a few of us, this place was something really close to a home. Perhaps, the closest to a home one ever had. I less than gracefully landed a few feet away from the door and carefully glanced at the surroundings. I wanted for no one to see me here, as I wished to cause no commotion. I knew people where looking for Robin's whereabouts and if they saw me here; they would most certainly come in and investigate. I did not want anyone near this building, anyone but myself.

I did not know what to expect, and I certainly did not expect what I saw. I arrived at the door, my mind filling with both painful and fond memories of my past. Every inch of that place triggered a new piece of information that I had believed to be buried in my subconscious. I now believe my job hiding these feelings and reminiscences had not been completed to the best of my abilities. As a matter of fact, the consequences of my actions these past years have not been for the better, but for the worst. I sometimes believe that life does not throw us hurtful situations. We mold our destiny, and the only factor which influences our quality of life is our ability to make the right decisions…of lack thereof.

At this point in time, the scattered pieces of life began to fall in place. It was not until that very moment I arrived at my old second home that I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel; the truth above all the lies. Why understand the complexity of the purpose of life if it will only slap me in the face and force me to see that our worst fears are induced by our attempts to prevent them from occurring?

I did not wish to believe I was being punished. It was too late for this to happen. Most importantly, I was tired of being the victim. It was time to take matters into my own hands and confront X'hal's prying in my life. This time I will succeed. This time the damage shall be repaired. This time I will take life with everything I have to give, and will not rest until I see the ones I care for the most in a better place. I shall allow no sacrifices; not this time around, not ever again.

I walked inside through the rusty metal door. Even though little time had passed, the lack of proper maintenance, the climate factors, and the reduced use of the entire building had taken their toll on the place which once served as a home for a dear friend…and for me as well. The inside of the building felt cold and humid, and the entire place was surrounded by an eerie feeling of work left undone. I did not know what I was there for, and what I was searching for. Still, there was enough time to perform a through search of the building as my fellow Titans were still in no condition to expose themselves to life outside the white-walled rooms.

How long had I been absent from this place?

A year?

A month?

A week?

A _day_?

Or was it just a _minute_ ago?

The memories attacked the insides of my head and grew in quantity with each step I took. The colors of the little used furniture, the smell of humidity and rotten food combined with the odors of a human shelter now playing host to rodents in unimaginable quantities.

I was careful to watch my step as I did not wish to encounter these new inmates. Their presence was not simply repulsive; but a glance of them would distort the memories I held of this place. I wished to keep them intact in a special part of my heart.

As I walked down the hall, I eyed the other rooms before arriving at the main destination I had in mind. I knew what the other rooms stored: a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. For once, time was my friend and I was going to take full advantage of this situation. I continued walking down the path that led me to the planning room. The purpose of the Planning Room was the same as the Control Room and Evidence Room at my home. It might not hold the same state-of-the-art technology as the Tower, but it served the purpose it needed to fulfill.

I finally arrived at the metal door. I sighed deeply before pushing it…but it did not budge. The door was locked. I was sure I had left it open when I left that night months ago, but I had not been the last one to leave. _He_ had been the last one to leave. _He_ had left knowing he might not return to his home ever again; and he never did.

I raised my hand and my fist glowed green, full of bolting power that invaded my body. I aimed at the handle and allowed my power to blow it to pieces. The door shrieked and began to open by itself. The annoying sound reached my eardrums and made me wince. The door stopped halfway on its path, so I gave it a final push. A second after this, I found myself gasping at the sight. I was expecting to see a messy room. I was expecting to smell the air of death hang around the place. I certainly did not expect to see the scene that now unfolded in front of me.

My good hand found its usual place on my chest while my good leg had to support my weight that seemed to be heavier than usual at the surprise. I felt my entire body shiver and my heart and mind were racing at the possibilities. Who was responsible for this? Who was capable of this? Why had this person taken matters into their human hands and played X'hal? With what purpose?

Why? I could not understand the reason why this was happening, and my answers did not make sense. Was the current situation not enough? Why was this happening now, from all times, why did it have to be now? Why did life have to strike us when we were down? Was this some kind of joke? Perhaps it was an Earthly joke? Whatever it was, I was certainly not laughing.

I gained enough courage to walk to the gurney…and there he was. I was speechless even though I had so many questions to ask and so many things to utter to him. I wanted to apologize to him, and at the same time, I wanted to scream my lungs out at him for being so…selfless. Why did he always put my safety before his? This is not what he deserved; especially not him.

I dared to place my open hand on the glass container which held his fragile little body. I had knowledge of how strong he was; but his actions for my safety were the ones that made him weak. His body was tough, his mind was determined, but his heart was as fragile as the container in which he was kept at the moment.

I could tell from the distance that his bruises were gone, the blood marks were gone, the skin was clean, and his crushed bones were no longer broken. Did this mean that his mind and heart were clean as well? I knew he was alive. Not only was I able to see the upwards and downwards motion of his chest, but the machines to which he was plugged into confirmed my beliefs. He was alive…he was back…did he _know_ he was back?

Seeing him there brought a sea of memories I thought I had blocked from my mind. His mere presence was enough to make my body quiver and my heart beat increase. I smiled at the situation. His eyes were not even open and he could still make me feel this way.

My happiness suddenly turned into fear. The reason I had come to this forsaken place once again was because Raven had mentioned it. I did not know if she was aware of this revelation, but her vision had described this place. I do not recall ever telling her about this place and I doubt the owner ever had the chance to do so. I was the only one who knew…the only one who could tell.

What if Raven knew about this? What if he was not let to…live…in peace? She had foreseen his failure before but, had she seen his return as well? No, Raven is not one to lie. She would have told me the truth if she knew it. She would never keep something so significant from me. Would she?

There was nothing else to do but to pull the plug. Who would dare to do this, though? I could not force myself to do it, even if I had the power to. All my answers and the possible cure to my curse were only seconds away. I just required the courage to perform the final action that would bring this man back to me. What was stopping me?

The real question in my mind was how greatly I needed my questions to be answered. Perhaps the true obstacle that was preventing me from regressing time and altering the rules of reality was my fear of the truth. What if he hated me? What if he regretted what he did and wished to hurt me? What if he took revenge on my friends?

What if he dies…again? Could I handle this again? Could any of us bear the burden of provoking his death again? We had so much to take in, so much to deal with…could we take another surprise? Another challenge?

Deep within my heart I knew the right thing to do was to finish what whoever had started this and bring him back; show him the light. I scoffed. Who was I kidding? This was not the right thing to do! This was what my heart wanted me to do? Should I listen to my heart again? Have I ever listened to it? I did not know what to do.

Yet, why was I directed to follow this path? Everything pointed to this place; at least everything in Raven's mind. I never told anyone about the hot cocoa…I never told anyone anything personal about him. What if he wanted to leave again? Was not this what he deserved? Did he no deserve to live a peaceful life, away from all the dangers that implies befriending the Titans?

My mind decided to make matters worse. Why make the decision by myself? Why not give _him_ the chance to decide what he wished to do with his life, for a change? At this point, he had what he had not had before: a _life_ of his own, free _will_, and the chance to decide where to take _his_ life. The gift of life was priceless and no one should have deprived him of enjoying it. I had once told him that if I had found a cure for his illness I would have done whatever I had to do to give him the chance to continue living. This was my chance, he wanted to live, and he wanted to continue to fill his lungs with life!

Yet, at my current state, I could not do this alone. I needed someone to hold my back or to protect me from him. I know he would never lay a hand on me to hurt me; but sometimes words hurt more than bruises. I gasped…his mask was gone!

Whoever had done this knew who he was and how he looked. All the trouble of keeping a secret identity had gone down the swamps of Denthrax 4! What if the person responsible for this was here, watching me from the shadows? What if this was a trap? What if this was not my long lost friend but…Robin?

I gasped at the realization. I had forgotten about Robin…how insensitive I had been! The love of my life was lost somewhere and all I had done was stand here slapping myself mentally for what I could not change instead of searching for his whereabouts! But…it was just that…this time…this time I could actually change the outcomes. I could somehow erase the past!

The past: the past that always seemed to haunt us, the past that had stopped us from growing up and living the present while expecting the future. I was tired of this past as I was tired of always getting hurt. This was too much to happen to only one person. Enough was enough!

I sighed deeply and before I knew it, my arm had extended to the button that would put an end to this decision-making process. All I had to do was press this button and a new chapter in our lives would begin. I reached for the machine and placed my index finger on it. I took a deep breathe and pressed it firmly. Nothing happened.

I pressed it again, this time faster but nothing seemed to have changed. I continue to press it multiple times and there was no change whatsoever. Red X was still in his slumber. A slumber induced by this machine. I never thought I wanted him to come back so much until this moment where my attempt so bring him back to life did not work. I began searching for another button that would aid me to perform my task but the only thing I was able to find out discouraged me even more: the equipment was protected by a password.

How was I supposed to figure the password out if I had no idea who had done this? What clue could I find to even attempt to guess the password? What if several failed attempts to revive him ended up hurting him? What if I endangered him again?

I cursed in Tamarean and stopped my search for answers when I heard a familiar sound: my communication device was ringing. Raven was trying to contact me. I had to respond at once. I grabbed my communicator and aimed at a random wall that seemed similar to the ones we had at the Tower before I flipped the cover open. I was correct; it was Raven's face which appeared on the small screen. "Greetings Raven!"

She gave me a half smile and I could tell she had just woken up. I had left the hospital without permission last night and no one knew where I was. I had wasted little time coming here as I searched for answers. I did not even tell Raven I was taking a small trip to the outskirts of the city. "Where the _hells_ are you, Starfire? A nurse woke me up because she went to give you your medicine and she couldn't open the door and then when she did she couldn't find you anywhere!"

I lowered my gaze. I felt ashamed of causing her more stressed than she needed. Poor Raven, carrying the burden of worrying about us. "I apologize Raven. I just needed some fresh air. I am alright and I shall head back to the hospital right away," I told her. She seemed relieved and after a "Tamareans and their crazy ways" line from Raven I smiled and closed the communicator. I had spent too much time here and as much as I wanted to stay, I had to return to my friends. The friends I could actually help for now.

I gave a last glance at the hero sleeping in front of me before I made my way to the front door. _"I shall return to assist you, friend,"_ I thought to myself and left.

It did not take me long to reach my destination. I went inside my room through the window and Raven was waiting for me. I saw the look of disagreement of my unauthorized trip but I merely shrugged. I could not tell Raven what I had seen. At least not anytime soon I could. I attempted to smile as to erase any thoughts of me being hurt but her face did not change. I sat back on my bed and I saw her eyebrow rise. I waited for her to speak as I did not wish to reveal the reason for my escapade. "Where did you get your uniform back?"

I released the breath I did not acknowledge I was holding. I was so nervous of an interrogation related to my whereabouts. I was not good at lying, and I did not want to lie to her if I did not have to. "Your Earthly garments for this place are rather uncomfortable. I was able to see my _grebnarks_ through them. I had to go by our home and dress my self in an appropriate way."

"Starfire, there is a reason why you have to wear these uncomfortable clothes in here. It makes it easier for the doctors to check on you."

"I understand, but I am feeling better now. I do not believe I required any more assistance from them. Remember Raven; I am stronger than I look."

"Of course, Starfire; I know that but it doesn't mean I can't worry about you. You just disappeared; you could have at least told me you were planning to take leave of absence! I thought something bad had happened to you!"

I felt my eyes filling with tears. I knew Raven was only watching over me and that I should have not started crying either but for some reason I could not help it. Perhaps the realization of how real these events were finally sinking in and they were so strong I was breaking right here and there, in front of Raven.

"Don't…why are you…? Did you go look for Robin?"

Robin…no, I was not looking for Robin just now; at least not yet. I went in search for answers no one could have had for me. As much as I wanted to start the search for him, I first had to make sure my other friends were alright. However, if I told Raven that I had not gone to look for him, she would have inquired about my destination and I could not lie to her that much in a day, I just could not do it. "Yes…I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize Starfire, I know you are worried about him but I'm sure he's alright. He just…likes to make an entrance, you know him."

I nodded. Robin had been lost twice, and both of those times he had safely returned to us. He knew how to take care of himself. He was no weakling…neither was I. "How are Beast Boy and Cyborg? Are they ok?"

Raven faintly smiled. I knew she had good news and wished to jump up and down but her personality would not allow it. She was happy even if she did not say so. I was her friend, I could easily tell. "Beast Boy is still unconscious but in the last session we had, he finally talked to me. He asked about you, and Cyborg and Robin. He wanted to know how you guys were."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that you were fine and that Cyborg was getting a new body. I told him that we had not been able to find Robin yet, and that we needed him to find Robin. I told Beast Boy we needed him and wanted him to come back to us."

"What was his reply to this?"

"He said he was happy we were alright and that he wanted to look for Robin. However, he wasn't ready to return, he still very scared about that night. I really don't blame him, he almost died."

"We all almost did."

"Not you, you…saved us. You saved us all."

"Not everyone, Robin saved me."

"And he would do it again if he had to."

"And I would do it for him as well anytime."

Raven smiled, this time more noticeably. I smiled back. "How is Cyborg?"

"Fixit is working on him. In fact, he asked me to stop by today. He is going to attempt to bring him back, at least his mind for now. He wants to know if there was any brain damage while he was off."

"May I go with you?"

"Sure."

I smiled brightly and followed Raven outside the room and down the hall. As we turned and went though several doors and hidden passages, we finally arrived to the secluded laboratory where Cyborg was being fixed. I was expecting to have to explain myself to the people who were guarding the place but they all looked at us and quickly got out of our way. Some of them saluted us and others did not even acknowledge our presence or did not care enough to move their sight from the screens they were looking at.

We arrived at the last door. This door was made of metal and had big bright red letters engraved on it which read: "Authorized personnel only: Section out limits." I looked at Raven while she punched a code on the keypad on the left and the door, slowly but surely, opened before us. The place was poorly lightened and there were several pieces of machinery everywhere. Some were on the floor while others rested on tables around the room. I saw a small light sparkle at the middle of the room. The small light it intermittently produced allowed me to see our old friend Fixit. He was working on what I believe was Cyborg's arms. He stopped and looked at us, clapping twice to make the lights turn on.

"Greetings, Raven. I see Starfire is awake. I am glad to see you. Are you here to check on Cyborg's condition?"

"Yes, have you tried to turn him on?"

"No, I wanted for him to see more familiar faces when he opened his eyes. For all we know, the last thing he saw was at the place of the fire. He does not know if he survived or if any of you did. He will be very confused and might need your support."

Both Raven and I nodded. I was anxious to know whether or not Cyborg had made it out alive, whether or not I had managed to save him. Yet, I also felt fearful of his condition. What if he did not awake? What if he forgotten about us? What if he does not say the 'Boo-yah!' anymore? Fixit led us to the table where Cyborg's head and upper body was held. Raven took a quick glance of him and immediately placed her hood on. I know what this meant: she was also having the same feelings as me.

I walked closer to Raven and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. I could feel her tension building up and I realized the dark aura beginning to surround her. I lightly squeezed her shoulder to acknowledge her of my presence and support. She took a deep breathe and I caught a glimpse of her eyes when she looked at me from the corner of them. I then returned my gaze to where Cyborg was. I took a deep breathe and closed my eyes. _"I know you might not like me, X'hal, but please do not take it out on my friends. Let him be alright, I beg of you."_

Fixit approached Cyborg and placed his mechanical hand on Cyborg's chest. He then looked at us and spoke. "Are you ready?"

"Yes"

Raven was the one who spoke. I was too nervous and frightened to reply. I had opened my mouth but no voice had come out. All I could do was nod and squeeze Raven's shoulder a bit more. Fixit did not hesitate and activated Cyborg for the first time in weeks. I held my breath and waited patiently for a reaction from him. There was none.

I turned to face Raven and she mimicked my action. Even though none of us spoke, I could read her mind through her eyes. We had lost Cyborg, our friend was gone. Fixit awaited a reaction from Cyborg as well, but his eyes did not open. We waited for what felt like an eternity, even though it had only been 20 long seconds. Again, nothing happened.

I could feel the tears building up in my eyes, and I felt Raven's aura grow stronger. Expressionless as his robotic body was, I could tell Fixit was also having a difficult time accepting the fact that Cyborg was gone. What about Beast Boy? Would he want to come back to know his best friend was not on this world anymore? And what about Robin? He surely would blame himself for his death and would never forgive himself for allowing this to happen. Cyborg was like a brother to me…he was…

"I'm hungry."

Hungry? My thoughts stopped and the word 'hungry' smacked my mind. I did not feel hungry, did someone actually said that? Where did that word come from?

"Cyborg?" I heard Raven say. I looked at Raven and then at Cyborg. He did not look like he had moved and his eyes were still closed. I thought perhaps Raven was hearing things, or maybe I was hearing things. Fixit's face was still the same. It was now my turn to attempt to break the confusion. "Cyborg…can you hear me?"

There was absolute silence for a small second which was broken by a loud growl; a stomach growl. "I'm so hungry I can eat _tofu_!"

I ran towards Cyborg and placed my hands on his cheeks. He immediately opened his eyes upon contact and gave me a small smile. "Cyborg, you are alive!"

Cyborg smiled even brighter and attempted to pat my head like he did sometimes but it was then he realized he was not…complete. "What happened, Star? Where are my arms?" Cyborg asked and then looked downwards, "Shit! I'm almost only a head! The grass stain can't see me this way or he'll freak out again!"

"Are you feeling ok?" Raven finally asked while removing the hood from her head. She walked towards us and Fixit decided to give us some time alone. Raven placed her hand on Cyborg's shoulder and lightly smiled. "You scared us back there, you know?"

Cyborg chuckled for a moment but then his face turned sour again. "I'm ok. I just need some fixing," he said while he gave Fixit a 'thank you' look. "Are you ladies alright?" Both Raven and I nodded simultaneously. Cyborg sighed in relief and then looked at me up and down, noticing the casts and bandages. His gaze then shifted to Raven who was almost in the same condition and his face fell. "I'm sorry I wasn't there guys. I'm so sorry."

I placed my good hand on his other shoulder and smiled at him. "There is nothing to apologize for, Cyborg. We are alright and so are you. All we must worry about now is to recover from this…experience. We will take it one day at a time."

Cyborg nodded and looked around himself. He saw the lab he was at, and Fixit working at the background on a new leg for him. Raven and I knew who he was searching for. I debated whether or not to inform him of Beast Boy and Robin's condition. I did not wish to strain him any more. However, my mind worked too slowly compared to Raven's reaction. Before I knew it, she blurted out what we both knew was on Cyborg's mind.

"They are not here."

"Oh! Where are they?"

"Uhm…"

"Raven…?"

"Well…"

"Yeah?"

Before Raven could answer his question I intervened, "Beast Boy is…on a bed, and Robin is out." Cyborg's eyebrows rose. "Say what?" I could not say more.

"What Starfire means is that Beast Boy is in a comma and that Robin is missing."

Silence.

"Since when…"

"Two weeks."

"Oh! Are they…?"

"Beast Boy is…"

"And…"

"We don't know."

More silence.

Cyborg stared at me with the most compassionate face I had ever seen. I knew what this meant. He knew I was worried sick and was hiding it; yet, none of them what I was really going through. I had not shed tears for him. I was going to do it soon. The pain was catching up to me; it was just a matter of time before I cried my heart out.

"Star…"

"It is alright."

"Are you…."

"No…"

"Can I…?"

"It is not necessary at the moment, thank you."

"But if you happen to…"

"I know."

The ability to read each other's minds was amazing to me. I knew I had this type of connection with Robin but I never believed to have it with them. Perhaps we have shared enough time together to know what is in the other's mind. Maybe we just worry about each other too much. Maybe Earthlings have powers I am not aware of.

"I think I shall visit Beast Boy. I have not seen him since I woke up and I want to talk to as well. He might not be able to hear me but I wish to see him."

"I'll stay with Cyborg a little longer. Do you how to get to his room?"

"No."

"He's in the room in front of you."

"Alright." I kissed Cyborg on the cheek and said my goodbyes before I flew out of sight. The last thing I heard was Raven telling Cyborg Robin had taken me out of the place before it exploded. I did not need to be reminded of this fact. I knew this pretty well.

I flew as fast as I could without causing distress towards Beast boy's room. I arrived to the door and slowly turned the doorknob. I walked in and closed the door behind me. There he was, my green friend, resting on that long bed which made him look smaller. "Greetings, Beast Boy!"

I knew he was not going to respond but this did not discourage me from talking to him while I made myself comfortable on a chair next to his bed. He looked so peaceful and carefree. And to believe there was a time when we all had this look on our faces…I wonder if it will ever come back?

"Forgive me for not coming sooner. I am here now and I promise I will come everyday until you wake up."

I took a deep breathe. I had so many things to say that I could not tell anyone. I did not want to be heard, I just wanted to vent out. I had to let go of my feelings now that I had the chance and I refused to talk to a wall. Might as well tell him what I thought even if he was not able to listen.

"At first I thought all this was my fault. I blamed myself like I always do, even for things that are out of my control. That is my nature. I worry too much for the smallest things. However, thanks to a quick trip I took today, I was able to realize that I did the right thing. If I had not been there after all of you, you would have all died there. With my help you at least have a chance to live…right?"

I sighed.

"Raven and Cyborg will be alright. I shall be alright as well. Robin is fine, I am sure. How about you? Do you not wish to return and make me feel better? I cannot help to feel guilty, but if you safely return to us I will not feel that awful. Can you help me with that? Can you help all of us with that?"

"I know about the sessions you are having with Raven. She tells me you are afraid to return to us. We are your friends; we need you here with us. I know what happened was shocking. I myself still cannot believe it but the truth is that it truly occurred. I know that if we stick together we can overcome this. We will protect you, Beast Boy. All you need to do is open your eyes and join us. We do not have to fight now. I promise we will not fight anytime soon."

"We have to focus on our health. I am positive the city does not expect us to fight in this condition. The Titans of the East are taking care of crime fighting for now. We might even take a break! Is this not wonderful? Where would you want to go? We can attend that video game conference you wanted to go last year. I am sure Robin would not mind."

The beeping stopped.

My heart skipped a beat.

Beast Boy was dead.

I jumped from the chair and looked at the machine that now had emitted a long beep. I knew what this beep meant. Beast Boy's heart was not beating anymore.

I flew to the door and clumsily opened it. My entire body was shaken and I felt a lump block my throat. I choked in my own saliva before I attempted a cry for help which came out squeaky and unintelligible. I cleared my throat and stepped to the hall, screaming again.

"HELP ME! PLEASE! MY FRIEND! HE IS NOT BREATHING!"

This time my scream was as loud as possible and it echoed on the walls of the hall. Time was going by too slowly and no one had seemed to hear me. I took a glance of Beast Boy from my shoulder and he was starting to pale. I began to panic even more.

I did not want to leave him alone but there was no one on their way. I did what I thought reasonable at the moment. I began flying around the halls, opening on every door looking for the people in white. I could find none…did they Earth just eat them?

I kept screaming for help and my search turned desperate. I could not believe there was no one near to help me and Beast Boy. Perhaps I was not looking in the correct places. I could still hear the long beep in my head and it made me scream even louder and harder. I felt my throat hurt and the bruises in my stomach ache because of the strain I was putting on them. I did not care. I had to save him, I just _had_ to!

I returned to his room and flew outside the window. Maybe there was not a doctor on this floor but there had to be one on another floor. I began searching through the windows and ignored the questioning looks of the people inside the rooms of the windows I peeked. My respiration was heavy and I was beginning to get dizzy. I knew the bump on my head was responsible for this. I was pushing my self but I could not give up now.

I caught a glance of a man in white. It was so fast I almost did not see it but I did. I flew towards the window and tried to open it but it was locked inside. I tapped on the window and screamed for the doctor not to leave but I he did not hear me. Stupid soundproof windows!

I prepared my eyes and used my laser beam to break the window. The doctor stopped on his tracks and returned to the room. He asked me what was wrong with me and I ignored his question and angry glare. I flew towards him and grabbed him by his arm while I asked if he was a doctor. His nod was all I required to drag him out the room by the window and take him to Beast Boy's room.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?" He asked when we landed on my friend's room. The doctor's ranting quickly ended when his ears acknowledged the beeping. He threw himself to his bed and began performing strange maneuvers on Beast Boy's chest. "Please, help him! He must not die! He cannot die!"

The doctor continued his maneuvers and between one and the other, he pressed a button above Beast Boy's bed. "A Titan is down! Get me a defibrillator NOW!"

I flied next to the doctor and saw that Beast Boy was still not moving. Had I been too late? Was he going to stay this way?

"Can I be of assistance?"

"No, you must leave the room!"

"But I cannot leave him alone!"

"Do as told, you can't be here now! You'll get on the way!"

"If _I_ would have not _gotten_ on the way, he would have died! No one was near to hear me! I shall not leave until I see him breathe again!"

Our discussion was cur short when I heard people running down the hall. Before I knew it, another doctor and a couple of nurses surrounded Beast Boy, pushing me out of the way. I heard them talk in loud voices and using the defibrillator on Beast Boy.

"How long has he been out?"

"I don't know!"

"Why wasn't anyone near?"

"I don't know!"

"Do you know _anything_?"

"I know we have to do something before it's too late for this kid!"

I opened my mouth to speak but I was not able to. I felt a sudden dizziness, worse than the one I had felt before, that made me stumble backwards. I tried to hold myself against the wall but my legs failed me as well. I slid down the wall to the floor and began breathing heavily. No one had noticed I was having difficult time breathing since they were all helping Beast Boy.

I tried to stand up but I could not. I tried to speak but I choked again. What was wrong with me? Was I dieing as well? The last thing I felt was the cold floor on my cheek when I fell forwards and passed out.


	17. Reunited

**Chapter 16**

Reunited

Raven opened her eyes after several rapid blinks and took her time to take a deep sigh. She sat on her bed and slowly shifted her body so that she placed her feet upon the cold floor. She stared at her room and felt relieved of finally being able to wake up there; on a place where she felt _safe_. She stood up from her bed and walked to the door. Lately there was nothing else for her to do but to stay at the Tower and recover from the night of the fire. After Beast Boy had woken up and Cyborg had been partially repaired, the Titans had been temporary dismissed from duty, and had been asked by the Jump City police to take the time needed to recuperate.

Even though the Titans had wanted to aid in the search for the still missing leader, they had opted to stay at the Tower and search from there. The burnt building had been searched and cleaned but nothing had been found to either confirm or deny Robin's death. Many days had passed, and each day that passed lowered the hope that rested in the Titans' heart. Although the theories presented by Police Departments of other cities suggested the idea that Robin's body had been completely burnt because of the nature of the guns stored at the warehouse, citizens and search agencies had not stopped looking for him. Neither the Titans nor the City that they protected were ready to mourn their hero.

Two months had passed since the incident but nothing seemed to have changed much. Beast Boy had been on the verge of dieing a couple of months ago and if it was not for Starfire, he had surely died without anyone even noticing. Three weeks after Beast Boy's near death experience, he finally opened his eyes during a visit Raven paid to him. A week after this Cyborg had been completely reassembled, yet he still needed to be rewired and checked up on. Fixit had moved to the Tower to work on him as the half-man, half-machine wished to join his friends at their home.

"_At least we don't get woken up at the middle of the night anymore,"_ Raven thought. As every morning of every day since they had returned to the Tower, Raven made her way to the living room where Starfire would had already prepared breakfast for all of them. Even if she did not show it, Starfire was worried sick about Robin and had begun to get depressed again. She had tried to hide it but Raven was able to sense her sorrow and had heard her crying in Robin's room a few times during the night. She had also noticed Starfire leaving the Tower at midnight and returning before dawn. Her escapades had increased as the day passed, but no one seemed to want to ask her where she went to every night.

"_I should try to ask her…we need her to be sane for what will come,"_ Raven thought before arriving at the main room's door. The door slid open and revealed a busy Starfire setting up the table and a green young boy helping her out. Cyborg and Fixit were no where to be seen but they would surely be arriving any time soon. Beast Boy noticed Raven's presence and smiled widely at her. Pointing at the table he yelled, "Good morning, Raven! I made breakfast for you!"

Raven arched a brow and walked inside the room, sitting on one side of the booth. Beast Boy's smile never fainted and he was quick to serve Raven a big plate of bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast, and a cup of herbal tea. "Come on Raven, try it! I followed Starfire's instructions. I know it's good!"

Raven stared at the plate for a second and then switched her gaze to her green friend. Only a bit more than a month had passed since he left the hospital and he seemed like nothing had ever happened to him. He had become more…calmed and….serious but he still retained some of his cheery self. In Raven's eyes, Beast Boy had been dramatically growing up; not only physically but mentally as well. She even dared to say that Beast Boy was maturing, maybe even becoming an adult. Raven's mind returned to the plate and took a deep breath before she spoke to him. "You made this for me?" Beast Boy nodded and smiled proudly.

"I thought you didn't want to get near meat…ever."

"I don't but I wanted to make something special for you…as a thank you for what you did for me."

"Thank you? What for?"

Beast Boy scratched the back of his head with his left arm and slightly blushed. Raven pointed to the seat in front of her and he sat down. He pulled his tofu plate to himself and took a big bite out of it. He jotted it down with soy milk and after cleaning his mouth with the back of his hand he looked at Raven and answered her question.

"Look Raven, I know what you did for me…for all of us. You took care of Cyborg, Starfire and me while we were sick and injured. Starfire is completely recovered, Cyborg is almost repaired and I am _alive_. If it wasn't for you and your _mind-messing-up-thingy-maggig_ I would have stayed in that comma forever. I don't know how else to thank you but with small things like these. I know it's not enough but…"

"I love it."

Beast Boy's eyes bugged open and smiled. "You do?"

Raven nodded and grabbed her fork to begin eating. Beast Boy did the same and engaged in small talk with Raven while Starfire sat on the couch and watched TV. Every morning Starfire would get up and after preparing breakfast she would watch the news, hoping to find out any new leads about Robin's search. She knew that before the city found out about anything, the police would call them first and they would be the first ones to find out. However, small things like these were what kept her spirit going on and her hope _almost_ intact.

Starfire placed her open hand on the space next to her on the couch and sighed. _"How long has it been since we had some peace? Are we ever going to be happy again?"_ She thought while recalling the movie nights they had all shared together. Starfire's thoughts were interrupted when the sliding door of the room opened. A unison sigh of surprise filled he room at the scene that unfolded in front of them. Cyborg stood there, all by himself.

"Cyborg…are you…ok now?"

Cyborg walked inside the room, allowing the door to close. He walked down the stairs and stood there looking at his friends. He had been relying on Fixit to move around while he was rewired but he was now finally able to move by himself. He smiled brightly to his friends and opened his arms widely, "What are you guys waiting for? Show me some luv!"

The Titans ran towards him and embraced him in a tight bear hug which Cyborg eagerly returned. After weeks…months of being apart for different reasons, they finally had the opportunity to be together, healthy…and alive. Starfire and Beast Boy were not able to hold back their tears and Raven tried her best to keep a straight face. Starfire wiped the tears from Cyborg's face and sniffed, giggled and cried at the same time. "You scared us big time, dude! We were afraid you weren't gonna come back!"

"Oh, no you didn't, you little grass stain! Ya think I was gonna let you be the only master of Ninja Monkeys IV? What you sniffin' man? Ya got too much morphine at the hospital."

"Just a little, yeah."

"We are happy you are back, Cyborg!"

"You did worry us for a sec there."

"Enough mushy, mushy stuff, k? I'm starving yo, now give Cyborg some food!"

The door opened again to reveal their visitor, Fixit. The Titans greeted him gratefully and Fixit bowed his head down as a reply. "I see you are better. I shall leave now. Repairs are complete."

Starfire flew towards Fixit and gave him a big hug. "You saved our friend. I shall be in debt forever." Fixit patted her back and continued walking towards the elevator door. Halfway on his path he was stopped by Cyborg's hand on his shoulder. Fixit stopped on his tracks and faced him questioningly. Fixit was still not used to humans' behaviors. "Thanks, man. This is the second time you save me…I owe you big time."

"You are welcome. This is what I do…there is no need to feel you are in debt."

"But I am…come back and pay us a visit whenever you need anything. ANYTHING, ok?"

"Thank you. I shall depart now."

Cyborg nodded and Fixit waved goodbye. He disappeared behind the doors of the elevator that would take him out of the living room and eventually away from Titans Tower as well. The Titans returned to their hug for a few more seconds before sitting down and eating breakfast all together, just like old times. Even though no one said it, it was ironic how a few months ago they had sat there trying not to talk about Starfire to not hurt Robin, and today they were talking trying not to talk about Robin to not hurt Starfire. _"When would these situations end?"_ Beast Boy thought.

"How are you feeling, Cyborg? Did Fixit improve your circuits?"

"Yeah, he said he added a _backup_ for my backup. If something like last time happens again, I won't be taken down so easily. He upgraded many of my systems as well; something good came out of it at least. How are you guys feeling?"

"Dude, I am all better! Raven helped me heal faster!"

"I am also alright. Raven aided me greatly as well."

"It was nothing…"

Raven felt all eyes staring at her and she tried her best to hide a smile. She was happy her friends were back and she was proud that she was able to help them as much as she did. She knew they already knew this, so she did not want to make a big deal out of it; it was not her style to make it public anyway. The Titans smiled at her while she looked at the floor, avoiding their grateful faces. "Yeah, it was nothing, k? Don't mention it _ever_ again…" The Titans giggled at Raven's shy response and then continued eating, making the room turn quiet while they ate. Starfire had sat next to Raven, and Cyborg had sat next to Beast Boy.

Beast Boy and Cyborg began silently arguing about each other's food while Raven tried to ignore them and Starfire giggled at their failed attempts to have a quiet, non-violent breakfast time. After a few staring fights, Cyborg cleared his throat after drinking an entire glass of milk and cleaning his mouth with the back of his hand_. "Is that a guy thing?"_ Raven thought.

"It's great to hear ya are alright. You think you guys are ready to get back to work?"

All three Titans looked at their temporary leader with a confused face. They tried to read a sign on his face that denoted he was joking with him but he was dead serious. Maybe a little bit more serious than dead.

"What are you talking about? You just back from a long hurtful repairing period!"

"True, but that is over now. We have work to do."

"What work? The only work we have now is to get better! The city gave us some vacations, dude!"

"Cyborg is right," Starfire said. Both Raven and Beast Boy gaped and switched their eyes from Starfire to Cyborg and vice versa. "Ok, _what_ did we miss?"

Cyborg rolled his eyes and sighed, "We have to find Robin. He needs our help." Beast Boy gapped and scratched his head. "But…" Beast Boy began but was interrupted by a sudden outburst from Cyborg. He stood up and slammed his fist on the table, making both Starfire and Raven jump on their seats. "What do you mean _'but'_? Don't tell me you forgot about him while you were asleep for weeks!" Cyborg screamed.

"I _didn't_ forget about him! It's just that…" Beast Boy began while staring at Starfire. "It's just that I didn't want to bring it up so soon…for Starfire's sake."

"It is alright…I would have brought it up myself anyway."

Raven placed a hand on Starfire's shoulder and Starfire closed her eyes. She knew the tears were coming. Everytime she thought about Robin being missing they always did. "Starfire, you know that if we start looking for him we might find something we don't want…"

"I know that…but I still wish to search for him. I will not lose hope until I find him alive…or…"

The room went quiet. They all had had the same idea in their minds but it was worse when they heard it said, especially coming from her. "Starfire, I'm sorry I…"

Starfire shook her head and dried her tears. She stood up from the table and slowly walked towards the big glass wall, tracing the clean glass with her fingertips. The Titans heads went down but returned back up when Starfire talked to them again.

"There is something I must show you."

"What is it?"

Starfire sighed deeply. She did not know where to start or how to tell them what she had found that night she escaped from the hospital. She had been visiting him every other night to make sure no one hurt him while he was asleep. She had tried to bring him back but she had not been able to crack the password needed to wake him up. She had been debating about whether or not her friends needed to know that Red X was alive. She was not entirely sure it was a good idea, not even at the present moment, but she was tired of keeping a secret from them. Keeping secrets from them had not been a very good idea in past occasions, after all.

"Starfire…you are scaring us…what did you see?"

"Does this have to do with you running away from the Tower at night?"

Starfire turned her head back and stared disbelieving at Raven. "I beg you pardon?"

"I know about your nightly escapades, Starfire. I saw you leave the Tower in several occasions. Where did you go to?"

Starfire bit her lip. There was no use hiding the information she had now. Raven could now follow her when she left, and Starfire could not afford to not return to him. She felt in debt with him and responsible for his protection. She just had to go back to him again.

"Starfire…"

"That night…when I left the hospital to take some fresh air…I came to the Tower…and then I went to another place…"

"Where?"

"You have never been there before, not even Robin has. No one knows of that place but me and…"

"Starfire, just say it!"

"Red X."

The room went dead silent again. "Why are you bringing up Red X again? Red X is gone and you know it very well. You know this is not good for you, Starfire. Do you want to fall sick again?"

"He is back."

Raven began walking towards Starfire and attempted to give some comfort to her. It was obvious Starfire was loosing it and she needed to relax. Raven felt Starfire began feeling anxious and nervous, but she could not detect a sense of her lying. Maybe she was not hallucinating…

"Why do you say this? Did you see him somewhere?"

Starfire slightly nodded. "I went back to his old home…the place where I stayed with him when I left the Tower back then."

"What made you return there?"

"You did."

Raven was taken aback. She furrowed her brows and placed her right hand on her hip. She was used to Starfire sometimes not making sense but this was too much. Her patience was running out too. "Raven, what is Star talking about?" Beast Boy asked from behind.

"I want to know that too. I don't even know where Red X used to live!"

"You…you had a vision, remember?"

"Starfire, I have many visions. Which one are you talking about?"

"The night when I left, you had come to my room and you passed out after a vision you had. Remember that you described it to me?"

"Yes…so how does it relate to Red X being alive?"

"That place…the place you described…it was Red X's home."

Raven's face showed even more confusion; confusion that was shared by the other two Titans who were now standing right next to Raven. "How was I supposed to know that? I couldn't even describe it completely!"

"For you who have never been there, the vision you had made no sense at all. However, I spent many days there and was able to recall it with your description. I was skeptical at first but the smell of hot-cocoa was all I needed to confirm the location you were describing. You had that vision when you touched me, didn't you?"

"The smell…?"

"Red X made hot-cocoa for me on a daily basis. The smell became a natural essence of the main room at his house."

"But… I'm empathic, Starfire. That vision could have very well been a deep memory of yours I was able to see. This vision of mine does not confirm he is alive."

"No, but I visited his home…I found him…he is alive."

Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg gaped at Starfire's answer but none of them uttered a word. Beast Boy allowed himself to fall on the floor while Cyborg scratched his head. Raven remained calmed and crossed her arms. She was not ready to accept Starfire's claim as true. "I am sorry Starfire but I find this hard to believe."

"I do not blame you Raven. I found it hard to believe myself."

"Where is he at?"

"His home…"

"Why hasn't he come to look for us? Is he mad?"

"That is the thing…he is asleep."

"Asleep?"

Starfire nodded and the Titans sighed. "You are not making any sense, Starfire. Maybe _you_ were asleep."

"NO!" Starfire screamed while her eyes and fists lit green. "I know what I saw and I _saw_ him alive! He was revived by someone and he is at his room waiting for someone to unplug him from a machine and be brought back completely to life!"

"Are you entirely sure?"

"Yes, I want to show you…I want to ask you for help…I want to help him…I do not know how, though."

Raven looked to her sides and eyed the male Titans behind her. Both Cyborg and Beast Boy nodded in agreement. There was not much they could do now but to investigate what Starfire had just said. At least this would keep her from thinking about Robin being dead and falling into a much deeper depression. "Alright, Starfire, lead the way," Raven finally said.

Starfire nodded and began walking to the door while everyone followed behind. They went downstairs and were about to get on the T-Car when Starfire stopped them from doing so. "Where we are going we do not have big roads. I shall take you there Cyborg. Beast Boy, can you fly?"

Beast Boy nodded and morphed into an eagle while Raven began levitating. Starfire held Cyborg firmly by the arms and they made their way to the open sky. In a few minutes the Titans arrived at the outskirts of the city. The first thing they saw was a big, old, rusty building hidden in between the forest. Starfire told them this was their destination and they landed a few feet away from the door. Beast Boy returned to his human form and Starfire carefully placed Cyborg on the ground. Raven stopped levitating and stood up next to Starfire.

"We must go inside."

"Is this building haunted?"

"No, but it does have many rodents."

"I can take rodent, not ghosts, but rodents yes."

Raven rolled her eyes at Beast Boy's comment and they began following Starfire inside the building. Again, the rusty door resisted budging but was no match for Tamarean strength. After the door was opened widely, the Titans walked in and followed Starfire down the hall. Raven was soon to confirm the infestation the building had while Cyborg's eye took in everything he could. The place looked like it had been properly taken care of at some point, but it had been abandoned for too long now.

Raven felt a shiver ran down her spine when she saw the living room. She had quick flashbacks of her vision that night, and realized how in fact she had described this place even though this was the first time she set foot on it. Raven stopped on her tracks when she bumped against Cyborg who had also stopped. "We are here."

Starfire took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she opened the last door that would reveal the proof her friends needed to believe her. Once the door was completely opened, she stood in the middle of the doorway. Raven stood on her right and Beast Boy stood on her left while Cyborg stood behind them. Starfire turned the lights on and the Titans held their breath.

There he was, still not able to move. He was there as Starfire had left him a few days ago. "Is he…?"

"He is breathing. He is asleep, but alive."

Starfire walked inside the room and placed her hand on the glass container. As all the other times she had done this, he did not even flinch. The induced sleep was still too strong for him to acknowledge her presence or anyone else's. Raven walked towards Starfire while Beast Boy and Cyborg approached the machine. Cyborg began analyzing the machine and after a few calculations he furrowed his brows. Beast Boy arched his eyebrows, wondering what had upset Cyborg. He then looked at the machine and back to Red X but nothing seemed to be relatively out-of-place.

Beast Boy joined the female Titans and looked at Red X. He knew the person laid on that bed was once dead and that same fact made him feel uncomfortable. _"I said I wouldn't handle ghosts!"_

Beast Boy shivered at the thought before another idea hit his head. "How do we know he is not…Robin?"

All eyes turned to him. "What?"

"They were the same person…almost…they looked identical…right? Maybe this IS Robin and not Red X."

Starfire and Raven looked at each other and then at the resting body. Was it really possible to be staring at the body of the missing hero?

"Fat chance, BB," Cyborg said from behind. The Titans looked at the second-in-command Titan with a quizzical look. "Come again?"

Cyborg began typing on the keyboard of the machine as if looking for proof for the statement he had just made while the rest of the Titans joined him and stood behind him. They waited a few seconds before Cyborg spoke again.

"The machine confirms his identity as Red X. This is Red X, the same guy we met years ago."

"How were you able to determine this?"

"The data gathered here says so."

"How do you know the data is reliable or even real?"

"I know the manufacturer of the machinery."

"Who is he?"

"…Me."

The Titans eyes opened widely at Cyborg's response. Starfire covered her mouth with her hands while Beast Boy looked incredulously at his friend. Raven was the only one capable of speaking; and she did.

"Did you know about this?"

"Nope, but this is the exact same model we have at the infirmary room at Titans Tower."

"How did it get here?"

"Someone brought it here, question is who? Only the four of us are able to access this technology."

"You are wrong."

This time it was Raven's turn to feel all eyes fall on her. Raven walked to Red X and eyed him condescendingly. "What do you mean, Raven?"

"I mean, we are forgetting someone who is also capable of doing this."

"Do you mean…"

"Yes."

"How are we certain that he…?"

"I don't get it!"

The Titans looked at their green friend and sighed altogether. Raven hit her forehead with her hand and Starfire's eyes began to fill with tears once again. "BB, they are talking about Robin. Robin did this, he brought Red X back."

"What? You guys are crazy! Robin couldn't stand the guy and was all psychotically jealous about him being near Star! He wouldn't bring him back!"

"He did."

"How are you certain of this Raven?"

"He told me about it."

"What!"

Raven nodded and sighed. _"I'll have your ass for this Robin! Just wait until you return!"_

"Months ago, before Starfire left, Robin asked me to find anything I could find in Red X's old suit that could enable us to revive him. I was not able to find anything, so he took over the search. His search was unsuccessful as well."

"I asked Robin to stop doing this when I accidentally found out about it. He said he would stop but apparently he did not."

"He must have found this place and must have found a clue here to bring him back."

"But I never told him about his place, how did he find it?"

Raven shrugged, "I wouldn't know either. While you were away he became very silent. He rarely told us about what he did or thought. After a few weeks he began leaving the Tower at night as well. We never asked him where he went but I guess he was working here."

"Why did he do this? Red X will die again in a year or so. I told Robin to let go of this idea! Why did he not listen to me?"

"Maybe he found a way to make him stay alive?" Cyborg said. "Why don't we bring him back and ask him personally?"

"What?"

Cyborg pointed at the screen. "This is Titan brand, remember? Even if Robin did this, I can still crack the code and put an end to this make believe sleep. You want me to do it or not?"

"Uhm…"

"I don't think this is a good…"

"Yes."

"Starfire?"

"I said yes."

Cyborg nodded and began his task to crack the code and bring Red X back. Tension surrounded the room and engulfed the Titans. _"This is it, the moment of truth." _Starfire clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. This is what she had wanted to do for a long time now, ever since she saw him here for the first time. She was afraid of his reaction and she knew she could not blame him but she preferred if he was happy to be back and not upset at all.

Raven tapped the machine impatiently with her fingers while she tried to figure out how Robin had found out about his place. _"Starfire says she had not talked about it before, at least not the location. How did he manage to come here, then?"_ Beast Boy looked at Red X and bit his nails. "Are you sure he is not a zombie?" Cyborg continued his fast typing and halfway between his encoding he chuckled. "He is not a zombie, B. Man! Robin can't deny this is his doing!"

"What do you mean?"

"I just finished cracking the code, guess what the password was?"

Silence.

"Starfire."

"Yes?"

"No, that was the password: Starfire."

"Oh"

Starfire could not hide a smile. _"He was thinking about me. He was thinking about me all this time."_

"Ready?"

The Titans nodded. "Here goes nothing."

Cyborg pressed a final code and a loud beep was heard. Once the beep ended, the glass container opened and Cyborg removed all the artifacts from Red X's body. The only thing they could do now was waiting. Fortunately, the wait was not long.

Red X took a deep breath and his chest rose up and then down again. His eye lids were tight closed and he slowly began moving his fingers. Beast Boy ran behind Raven and covered himself with her robe. Cyborg prepared his cannon in case Red X attacked them, and Starfire held her breath.

Red X's breathing stabilized and his eyes blinked several times before opening completely. He raised his right hand and placed it in front of his face, eyeing it strangely, as if he had never seen it before. He did the same with his other hand, still unbeknownst of the visitors watching him. "Where am I?"

"Red X…"

Red X gasped and turned to his left. He saw Raven and Starfire in front of him. He slid on the bed and rested his back on the wall. He turned to his right and saw Cyborg standing next to the machine, his eyes bugging open. "What am I doing here?"

Starfire began walking towards him but she decided to stop. He as probably lost and confused and she did not want to scare him off. "It is ok. We will not hurt you. Robin brought you back. He brought you back to life."

"Robin?"

"Yes…"

"Who's Robin?"

Starfire turned to face Cyborg who had now hidden his cannon. Cyborg shrugged and shook his head. Starfire returned her eyes towards Red X, who was still welcoming the protection of the wall. "Do you not remember Robin?"

"No."

"Do you remember me, Starfire?"

"No."

"Do you remember any of us, The Titans?"

"No."

"Do you know who you are?"

Red X took a few seconds before he spoke while he slowly sat on the edge of the bed he had been sleeping at. He looked at the floor and then eyed each and every single one of the Titans, attempting to remember any of them. His attempted was futile.

"No."

"Do you remember anything at all?"

Red X shook his head. Starfire walked towards Red X and after measuring up his behavior and acknowledging he was not going to move, she sat next to him on the bed. "Do you wish to come with us?"

"I have…no where else to go."

Starfire nodded. "Can you fly?"

"I don't think I can fly."

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah."

"Are you afraid of heights?"

"I don't remember."

"Raven, can you carry him?"

"Sure."

"Come with us."

Red X jumped from his bed and followed the Titans outside the building. Raven carried Red X, Starfire carried Cyborg and Beast Boy morphed back into an eagle to follow them back to their Tower. Red X eyed the ground fearfully and Raven felt his shoulders tensed. "I won't drop you, I promise."

"It's not that, it's just that I just remembered something."

"What is that?"

"I _am_ afraid of heights."

Raven shook her head. _"When I woke up today I thought this was just another day. I guess I was wrong. Not only do we have to look for Robin but we now also have to take care of Red X. Maybe he can help us find him, if he remembers who he is and who we are. We also have to find out who set us up and why. So many things to do…some little time…and no clues. From all the times we needed you the most Robin, this has to be the worst one. I just hope you are ok."_

"Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let go of him now. We are home."

"Sure."

Raven had been so into her thoughts that she had not realized they had arrived to the Tower. She placed Red X on the floor of the roof and began walking towards the door. Red X looked at her and then at the rest of the Titans, not knowing what to do or say. Cyborg patted him on the back and led him to the door. "I am gonna show you your room. Are you in for a game?"

"A game…?"

"Yeah, we _know_ you'll like it!"

Cyborg took Red X away from the roof and Beast Boy stayed behind. He noticed Starfire was looking at the sunset and had not moved an inch since they arrived. He walked towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is everything ok, Star?"

"Yes."

"It seems we have another riddle to solve, eh?"

"This is indeed a big one."

"Yup."

Starfire sat on the floor and hugged her legs with her hands. Beast Boy sat next to her and stared at the sunset with her. "Beast Boy…"

"Uhm?"

"Do you think Robin is still alive?"

"Yeah! He's tough…tougher than all of us together."

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course, Star! He might be bossy and rude and sometimes irrational…"

"But…"

"But he cares about us, and about you; _especially_ about you. And it is true that he would do anything for you…even die for you…but he would never leave you if he knew you were gonna be alone or anything."

"I do not think the episode at the fire was planned."

"Maybe not…but this is Robin we are talking about, he always has a plan B."

"That is what I am afraid of."

"What do you mean, Star?"

"You say Robin would have never left me alone if he _knew_ I was going to be alone. And it is also true that he always has a plan B."

"Yeah…so?"

"What if bringing Red X _was _his plan B?"

Beast Boy gulped_. "If this is true, then Robin's gone. If Red X is Robin's plan B, then we'll never see Robin again…this means Robin is…"_

"I now know this is a possibility, but this does not mean I accept it as such."

"Starfire…if this was Robin's idea…and he is truly gone, there isn't much we can do about it."

"I cannot be certain this was Robin's will."

"Well, he did use your name as the password to wake Red X up."

"That does not mean anything!"

"Look, Starfire…I am not trying to bum you up but we have to consider that…"

"Silence!"

Starfire slammed her fists on the floor before she realized what she had done. She immediately turned to face Beast Boy and hugged him tightly. Beast Boy was surprised by this since he was expecting her to blow him to pieces because of what he had said. It took him a few second to recover and once he did, he too hugged Starfire back.

"I am sorry, Beast Boy…I…"

"It's ok Star…I shouldn't have said that."

"But you are correct. This might be what Robin wanted…I must leave my options open. This might be what Robin thought was best."

Beast Boy patted Starfire and allowed her to cry for a little while before he spoke again.

"This was a long day, Star. Why don't you go to bed and rest? We all needed it but you need it the most. Come on, I'll walk you to your room."

Starfire shook her head. "I wish to stay here for a while longer. Why do you not go and welcome Red X? I have a feeling he will be staying with us for a while."

"Ok, are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Good night, Star."

"Good night, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy waved goodbye before disappearing through the door. Starfire sighed and returned her eyes to the sunset. The sun was almost completely gone and some stars were already visible. The wind blew her hair in different directions and dried her tears. Starfire closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall backwards, laying on the cold floor of the roof. She let her arms open to her sides and opened her eyes to look at the stars. _"There is our star, Robin! Can you see it?"_

Starfire closed her eyes once again and recalled the events of today. Cyborg was fixed, the team was back in business, and Red X was returned to life. The only thing that was missing was Robin. He was the only person missing to make her life complete. Once again fate had played with their lives and had put them in a serious situation, and the only thing they could do was to deal with it and move on.

Tomorrow was going to be another day; they day when they would begin the search for Robin. They day that would take them one step further into finding him and the person who had made them suffer like this. _"Whoever you are, you are not getting away with this. I will make sure of this myself."_

Starfire stood up and flew towards the door. She looked at the now dark sky one last time before she spoke to the night.

"Good night, Robin."

And she closed the door behind her.


	18. Cryptic Clues: Part 1

**A/N: **This story is nearing its end, and as I said before, this is my last TT story :( This story has 20 or 21 chapters, depending on how well things turn out in the 20th chapter. I would like to thank my wonderful readers who encouraged me to finish the story; I was kinda losing hope. The next time you see my old name (Miss Starfire) in a new story will be with InuYasha. I am still the same miss starfire, I just changed my name to avoid hate mails :p

Enjoy the last chapters of this story! I hope you like them as much as I do! Sorry for the long delay! bows down

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**Chapter 17**

Cryptic Clues

"What did you get her?"

"Where we supposed to get her _something_?"

"Does the word '_birthday_' say anything to you?"

"It reminds me of a song…but I can't remember the lyrics."

"Beast Boy…"

"Yes, Rae?"

"Shut the hell up!"

"Hehehe…"

Raven and Beast Boy walked down the hall of Titans Tower. Their destination was clear and was very close, yet the visited person was not entirely aware of their future presence in her room. As they got closer to Starfire's room, a half-sleepy Cyborg and a little bit too anxious Red X waved at them from the other side of the hall. "You think she's awake?" Red X yelled a little bit too loud than needed.

"If she wasn't, you just woke her up with that scream of yours."

Red X's smile disappeared and was replaced by a face of worry. Raven rolled her eyes and Cyborg patted the guest's back. "Don't pay attention to Raven, man. Star is an early bird, she's probably awake already. I'm sure she's expecting us too!"

Red X gave Cyborg a small smile but quickly erased it when Raven and Beast Boy finally arrived at Starfire's door. "X, you need to work on your sarcasm skills. You didn't use to be such a sissy girl! If you continue believing everything that Raven tells you is the truth, one of these days we are gonna find you crying on a corner while eating ice cream from a bowl."  
"Listen to the green little man," Cyborg said, "He has years of experience."

Raven glared at the boys in front of her and all they could do was shrug and take a few steps away from her when they saw the dark aura forming around her. They knew making Raven angry so early in the morning was not really healthy for her or for them, especially for them. Bottom line was that making Raven mad at _any_ time of the day was not healthy –and safe, for anyone near her.

"What did you guys get her?" Red X asked. Beast Boy grabbed Red X's box and shook it frantically. Red X shrieked and took the box back from Beast Boy, glaring at him with the meanest look he could manage to give, which did not compare _at all_ with his former evil side. "Don't do that! You're gonna break it!"

"Break it? So it's expensive eh?"

"Kind of…"

"Look, dude, let's make business here…"

"Eh?"

"Yeah, you see…I could not find anything that Star would like…"

"In other words," Raven said, "Beast Boy is a cheap ass." Beast Boy's eyes bugged open while Raven rolled her eyes at him for the 27,000 time in this lifetime. "Just tell him the truth! I can smell your lies and it's worse than the smell of your underwear."

"The hell! When have you smelled my underwear? Are you that kind of people who like to sniff people's undies?"

"No, but you are the kind of people who like to leave your underwear on people's pillows…I don't even know how you were able to get into my room with them!"

Beast Boy crossed his arms and tapped the floor with his right foot. He snorted and looked away while speaking to Raven one more time. "It wasn't me! You probably love my underwear so much, and now you are trying to make me think I put them there…"

"As if…if I wanted to smell underwear I would smell my own…"

"You don't even _use_ underwear…"

"…"

A muffled laughter was heard from behind the Titans. Cyborg was trying his best not to blow up his cover but he could not contain his amusement. Raven turned and glared at Cyborg.

"IT WAS YOU!"

"…"

Beast Boy and Red X could only flinch at the scene. Cyborg had been surrounded by a very familiar dark aura and was now kissing the floor. "I am so telling Robin, when he comes back, not to give you access to our rooms anymore." Beast Boy snickered while Red X shrugged.

"Let's get this over with."

Raven shook her head and stretched her hand to knock on Starfire's door when it slid open, revealing Starfire in pajamas. She was looking at the floor and saw three pairs of feet, making her look up and seeing her friends' happy faces.

"Friends…to what occasion do I owe your presence this early in the morning?" she asked while quickly turning to look at Beast Boy who was not usually an early bird. "Even Beast Boy is here!"

"I know! Wait…what is that supposed to mean!"

Starfire giggled and walked outside her room, allowing the door to close once again. "We came to wake you up, for your birthday…," Raven started but stopped when she saw Starfire tilt her head in puzzlement. "My…birthday? Today?"

They all nodded at the same time. Cyborg, who had finally been able to peel himself from the floor, looked at her with the same face of concern as the others did. "Starfire…are you ok?"

Starfire took the time to look at her friends; they all had boxes or bags in their hands. Memories of her last birthday came rushing to her mind, allowing her to remember what a birthday meant here on Earth. _"Just like last time…except that Robin is not here."_

"Starfire…are you, like, going through that phase where women get traumatized because they get old?"

Without further warning, Raven's magic sent Beast Boy smashing to the closest wall. It was Cyborg's turn to laugh now. Red X flinched again. _"Raven is dangerous…note to self: don't ever piss Raven!"_

Raven walked close to Starfire and placed her hand on her forearm, trying to bring Starfire's lost sight back to Earth. Starfire blinked and turned to face Raven. "Starfire, you didn't want to celebrate your birthday? Are we making you feel uncomfortable?" Starfire shook her head.

"_The truth is that, with everything that has happened, I had forgotten that today was my birthday. I was so caught up with my own personal search for Robin I lost track of time. There I was, telling Robin these actions were not healthy, and here I am, acting like him as well." _

Starfire knew her friends were just trying to cheer her up, regardless of the current situation but this did not mean she agreed with them. To be honest, she did not feel like celebrating anything at all: not today, not at the moment, not _without_ Robin.

"_It would be like accepting he is gone forever!"_

Yet, she could not let them know of her pain and her restless nights trying to find Robin or a clue that would lead her to him. _"I am not giving up on him as he did not give up on me!"_ it was now that Starfire realized she had stayed silent for a long time and that her friends were still in front of her, wondering where her mind had gone to.

"I…was attempting to act surprised," she lied, a fake smile formed on her face. "Did you believe it? Hehehe." Raven knew she was not telling them the truth, but for her and the other's sake she decided to let it go for now. It was obvious to her that Starfire was again hiding something from them. When were the secrets going to stop? Raven linked secrets with betrayal, and even though she strongly believed Starfire would never betray them, she was getting really tired of having to wander in people's minds to get things straighten out. "You scared me for a second there, Starfire. I thought you had lost your memory!" Raven said.

"No, Raven. That would be me!" Red X said from behind, following his statement by a bright smile. The Titans laughed. "Will you look at that? Red X's jokes are actually funny! Bad news for you, grass stain!"

Beast Boy eyes became slits. "Bite me, Cyborg!"

"I would but you probably taste like tofu." Cyborg replied.

"What is wrong with tofu, anyway? Which reminds me of something!" Beast Boy lifted his shirt and pulled a thin, rectangular-shaped present from under it. His eyes sparkled and he kissed and hugged the gift as if it was the last drop of water on a desert. He grabbed the gift with both hands and extended his arms to Starfire. "Here, this is for you!"

Starfire smiled at the excited little boy and grabbed the gift from his hands. "I thank you, Beast Boy."

"Open it, Star! You are gonna love it!"

Starfire nodded and began opening her gift. She carefully peeled the wrapping paper and slowly removed it completely from the present. Beast Boy's eyes sparkled as if he was being offered another moped. Starfire giggled and finally was able to read the cover her brand new cooking book.

"101 Ways to Prepare Tofu," Starfire read out loud. Everyone but her turned to face Beast Boy who was now smiling widely. "You love my present, don't you?"

Raven shook her head and placed her hand on her forehead, scratching an invisible itch. Cyborg crossed his arms and sighed, while Red X tilted his head and exhaled deeply. Beast Boy became aware of his friends' reactions and placed a hand on his right hip while he pointed at them with his other hand. "I don't know what the bid deal is about! Star always said she wanted to cook Earth food and now is her chance!"

"Beast Boy…" Cyborg began, "when she said _Earth_ food, she meant _real_ food, _edible _food, food that actually has some _taste_, and that _everyone_ in the Tower can eat!"

"At least I don't have to eat oil for my elbows and knees…"

"What did you say!"

Cyborg charged towards Beast Boy and Beast Boy started to run when they were engulfed by a black aura –again, and were sent towards each other. The impact caused them to yelp and ended on the floor again. Red X looked at Raven and then at the pair of children on the floor before addressing a question to Raven, "Do they _always_ act like this?" Raven nodded.

"Now onto my gift," Raven said. She gave Starfire a decorated gift bag. Starfire smiled at her and dug her hand deep into the bag. Starfire's true smile showed when she felt the familiar shape of Raven's gift. "Candles! I had run out of scented candles…thank you Raven!" Starfire said while jumping in front of her friend and hugging her. "You don't have to hug me, you know?"

Starfire giggled and took a step back. Before she knew it, Cyborg was standing next to her, with a big box on his hands. Starfire tilted her head and grabbed the box. "Is this a book to learn how to use the T-Car?"

Cyborg's eyes slit. Beast Boy fell on the floor laughing. Raven grabbed Starfire's cooking book and hit her face with it. Red X shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "Ha-ha-ha…so funny, Star."

"Forgive me; I was not able to help it!" Starfire said and proceeded to open the box. Cyborg aided her by holding the box while she removed the wrapping paper and the ribbons it had. After a few moments, the box was clear to view and its content was visible. "Oh! Is this a portable computer?"

Cyborg nodded. "What the hell? You get her a laptop but you can't get me a moped?"

"Wow, Cyborg, that's a nice gift. I didn't know Starfire needed a laptop." Raven said. Starfire fidgeted where she stood. She knew the reason why Cyborg had given her the laptop. _"He must know that I use the living room's computer at nights!"_ Part of her search for Robin took place in the Evidence Room, but most of it was made in the living room. One of those nights she had been there, Cyborg had walked in and saw her using the computer. She had felt extremely nervous and had come up with the lamest excuse to be there, even though Cyborg had only asked her if she was feeling ok_. "I…wanted to see…the…movie theater's schedule!"_ She had told him, in a high-pitched voice.

Cyborg had ignored her reaction and decided not to question her reasons to be at the living room so late at night, and left. Days went by and Starfire kept making her nightly rounds in the living room, and Cyborg was very aware of this. Acknowledging her birthday was soon to come; Cyborg decided that this was the perfect occasion to slip in an extra aid for her._ "She doesn't want us to find out she is looking for Robin on her own…but that doesn't mean I can't help her in some way."_

"I thank you very much Cyborg!" Starfire said and hugged the half-man, half-machine. Cyborg embraced her back and whispered something in her ear: "You can access the server from the mainstream computer from this laptop…all from the commodity of your room." After listening this, Starfire hugged him even tighter, making Cyborg shriek and ask for air. Starfire released him and nodded thankfully. Cyborg was not the type of person to go around and tell everyone about her personal secrets. She knew she could trust him, and was glad to know that it had been _him_ who had seen her that night, and not anyone else.

Finally, everyone turned to face Red X. He could not help to fidget and became even more nervous than before. Even though he did not know why he always had this feeling when Starfire was around, he could not help to feel uncomfortable and uneasy. Starfire smiled at him, attempting to reassure him that everything was fine, and that she would love anything he was going to give her. Red X walked in front of her and stretched his arm to her. "I am not very good at wrapping…I hope you don't mind…"

Starfire shook her head and carefully grabbed the box from him. All he could do was stand there, in front of her. His mind screamed to take a step back but his legs did not respond. He wanted to stop staring at her face but his head would not listen to his mind either. Starfire struggled unwrapping the gift but attempted her best to not let it show. She did not want to break Red X's heart, and she knew he was paying special attention to her. His face denoted the feeling of anxiousness that invaded his entire body, which then reflected in his eyes not blinking.

Starfire finally finished unwrapping the gift and opened the card box. She was surprised to see another box inside of the first one._ "I wonder if this is like that last time Beast Boy gave me a gift that had many boxes to open. It was rather…frustrating."_

The box inside it was made of crystal. It was white with silver lines surrounding it, and a big silver button on the front. She turned the box upside down and became aware of the engraving there was on the bottom. It read: _"To keep you company at night."_

Starfire felt a sudden panic when she read the engraving. She wondered what Red X meant by it, and she feared he too had found out about her nightly searches for Robin. _"He could not possibly know about it, correct?"_

She quickly dismissed the thought and decided not to think any of it, or at least not show it to the Titans. She smiled brightly at Red X and hugged him tightly. Red X happily returned the embrace.

She finally let go of him and curiosity got the better of her. She became tempted to press the shiny, silver button the box had. She tapped the button with her fingers until she finally could not resist anymore and pushed the button. To her surprise, the top part of the box opened, revealing a tiny ice skater, skating to a sweet melody around the bottom of the box.

"It's a music box," Red X said, "I though you might like it." Starfire smiled, sending her stare back to the music box. She did not know why, but even though the newly acquired gift was beautiful, she could not help to have this eerie feeling surround her when she looked at it. _"It is as if I had seen this artifact before."_

She knew that she had not owned anything like this before, and that neither of her friends was to have one either. She tried to dismiss the thought but the feeling was still present to the point of making her uncomfortable. She stared at the music box again, this time furrowing her brows as she was in deep thought. _"Perhaps I have seen this in the mall of shopping before…"_

And that was when it hit her.

Starfire froze and gasped. The rest of the Titans stared at her, waiting for her to make any sign that she was fine but she did not move. "Starfire?"

Starfire's mind was racing, the memory she had tried so hard to push back to the bottom of her mind was forcing itself to return. She knew she could attempt to ignore it. She knew she could pretend it had been a dream. She knew she could try and overlook it. She also knew her heart and her soul would not allow her to_. "This cannot be…it just cannot be!"_

Suddenly, the scene from the back of her mind which was attempting to take over her thoughts finally overcame her. She remembered it, she remembered it very well.

_"I have such a craving for hot cocoa. I should blame you for making me addicted to it!" Red X said, failing to show a smile after his statement. Starfire smirked and continued to look at the windows of the stores they walked by. The stores were filled with many _sparkly_ objects this time a year. Christmas was just around the corner and she would spend it away from her friends. _

_"Nobody forced you to drink it. I believe you are a mature young man who is entirely capable of taking his own decisions. It is not like if I had placed a piece of weaponry on your head and forced you to drink the brown, tasty substance."_

_Red X chuckled. "No, you didn't. But with those laser eyes, superhuman strength, flying capabilities and starbolts, it's kinda of difficulty –and risky, to say no to you." Starfire rolled her eyes; still looking at each of the windows they walked by. "For X'hal's sake! You are such a baby! I merely had my eyes and fists glow a little! I was not going to actually use them against you!"_

_"Sure, you weren't!" Red X said. "I have powers too, you know? I could have easily taken you down in a heartbeat…Starfire?"_

_Red X looked behind him and saw Starfire gawking at a store. He looked up and saw that the store she was looking at was a jewelry store. He smiled and walked towards her, stopping a few feet next to her. "What are you drooling at? I am right here!"_

_Starfire sighed and pointed at an object Red X could not find. The store was filled with many sparkly objects it made his head spin. "The music box has a tiny person inside it! How beautiful!"_

_Red X looked at the music box. He was sure he had seen better music boxes, especially the ones surrounding the one she was pointing at. He shook the thought away and focused on what Starfire liked, not what he liked. "You like that one?" Starfire nodded. "Indeed. On my planet we do not have ice rinks. This is something I came to know here on Earth. It is very similar to flying but it has something, I not know what, that makes me enjoy very much."_

_"I see," Red X said. "Do you want it?" _

_Starfire faced him, giving him a puzzled look. "You mean the tiny little woman inside the big box?" Red X nodded._

_Starfire smiled brightly and clasped her hands together in delight. "I do not wish to be a burden…but I really do!"_

_"Ok, just wait out here. I'll go inside and steal it for you, and when I come back we fly the hell out of here." _

_Starfire's eyes opened wide. Red X kept a serious face. "I do not think I want it _that _much." Red X laughed. _

_"I'm not doing that, dummy! I'll buy it for you!"_

_Starfire released a breath she did not know she was holding, and rested her open palm on her chest. "What a relief…"_

_Red X grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the store. They walked directly to the store's clerk and asked for the item that they had gone inside for. _

_"I am sorry; we don't have any of those. We ran out this morning." The clerk said. Starfire's face fell which made Red X's heart hurt. "What about the one you have on display? Can't we take that one?"_

_The clerk shook his head. "That one is for display only because it doesn't work anymore. The ballerina is stuck and the music doesn't play anymore. I'm truly sorry."_

_"S'okay," Red X said. He turned to Starfire with an apologetic face, and walked Starfire outside the store, immediately apologized to her. "What are you apologizing for? It is not your fault the store is out of music boxes."_

_"Maybe not, but I should have asked first before getting you all excited about it. I'll come by later and see if they have any more."_

_"You do not have to."_

_"But I want to."_

_Starfire smiled, and he smiled back. "Thank you."_

_"You are very welcome."_

_Then one of those moments came again. Those quiet moments that would make her feel awkward. Those moments where he would look at her with those loving eyes, begging for her to feel the same way he did. Every time a moment like this came, she felt she was betraying Robin more than she already was. She looked away and cleared her throat. "I guess this is not the best time to say this, but we are out of cocoa."_

_Red X understood the reason why she had changed topics and faked a shocked face. "Say what? We can't go back home without cocoa! What are we supposed to drink?" Starfire giggled and Red X felt relieved of having the tension go away. He pointed to the convenience store on the other block with his head. Starfire nodded and followed him across the street._

_"I hope they have more cocoa than the one on the display." Red X said. Starfire rolled her eyes at him again. _

Starfire's gaze was fixed upon the blushing boy in front of her. _"He knows! He remembers!"_ Red X had felt embarrassed at first, but the more Starfire looked at him, the more uncomfortable he began to feel.

"Starfire, is everything ok?"

Raven had jumped into action and attempted to make Starfire's eyes look at something that was not Red X's face. It was not that she was jealous, but even she could feel the load of mixed emotions her eyes reflected on him. It made _Raven_ feel uncomfortable as well. Red X took a step back, "Don't you like it?"

Starfire's mind was racing. She did not how to reply to his question. Did she lose it completely and blurt out that he was faking the amnesia? Or did she act like nothing had happened and ask him about this later on, when no on was looking? _"He remembers our date! He must have remembered!"_

Starfire took a deep breath, calming herself down. She noticed the looks on everyone's faces and quickly faked a smile. She placed the gift between her hands and placed it on her chest, her hands clasped around it. "I love it!"

"Girl, I thought you had seen a ghost!" Cyborg said.

"_I almost did…"_

Starfire shock her head and continued to smile at them. "I am sorry; it is just that I had always wanted this. Thank you, Red X." Starfire assured him. The Titans looked at each other, not fully convinced that Starfire was entirely fine. There was a dense silent period between them. Adjusting to their current situation had not been easy for any of them. It was like if life had not gotten tired of throwing unexpected situations at all of them, one after the other. This time they were closer to living more normal than they had ever been before. The only person that was missing was Robin, and they were not going to give up until they found him.

Starfire kept staring at the floor, thinking about how much she missed Robin, and how heart wrenching it was for her to not have him near her in such a special occasion. The stayed silent for a while longer until Beast Boy's stomach broke the silence. "So, are we eating breakfast?"

Starfire giggled and Raven huffed. "You just want Starfire to use that cooking book to make something for you, don't you?" Cyborg asked.

Beast Boy gasped, placing an open hand on his chest and the back of the other on his forehead. "Why I never…!" he cried.

Starfire laughed and wrapped both of her arms around Beast Boy's right arm, pulling him towards her. She kissed his forehead and smiled. "I will cook anything you wish, friend." Beast Boy's eyes sparkled in delight. He began walking towards the kitchen, Starfire still holding his arm. "I want_ real_ food!" Cyborg, who yelled from behind, joined them in their journey. Raven and Red X stayed behind, eyeing the team disappearing down the corner of the hall.

"That was a pretty good gift for her. I didn't know you would know what she wanted, given that you don't remember her," Raven said, attempting to sound innocent in her questioning. Red X shrugged. "I just saw it downtown when I went with Cyborg to buy groceries. It just seemed like something she would like." Raven raised an eyebrow. "Of course; say, X, have you been feeling better? We haven't done a check-up on your health since the day we found you. What if after we eat, we go to the emergency room and see how you are doing?"

"Sounds good to me!" he said, "Now let's go catch up with the others. I also want real food."

Raven nodded and followed Red X. She did not know why, but she also felt Red X's perfect choice of a gift was more than just a lucky guess. She had never seen Starfire react like that before. She seemed to Raven as if the meaning of life or another great revelation had been placed in front of her. _"For a second there she seemed…surprised…even scared. I have to find out why!"_

With this in mind, Raven continued her way to the living room to join the rest of the Titans. It seemed that, the more time passed, more questions, instead of answers, gathered in her head. _"Robin better find his way back pronto, before I go all crazy on this guy,"_ and with that, she disappeared in the shadows of the halls of Titans's Tower.

The beeping that represented his heartbeat was stable. His vital signs were perfect, and he had never been in a better condition. His muscles had not been damaged during that long time of rest, and his reflexes were better every day that passed. Cyborg had feared that his dormant sleep would have damaged his brain waves or his muscular activity, but Robin had managed to do an awesome job bringing him back and keeping him healthy. He patted Red X on his bare back and laughed. "You are healthier than a baby, man!"

Beast Boy walked closer to him and poked Red X's cheek several times. "He _has_ the skin of a baby…what do you use to bathe? _Wipes_?" The green boy teased. Red X smirked and poked Beast Boy's cheeks. "No, but I am sure you use chlorophyll in _your_ shampoo." Beast Boy's eyes became slits. He crossed his arms and walked back to his previous place on the opposite bed, throwing a small fit. "Serves you right, grass-stain!"

"Whatever."

"Cyborg?"

"Eh?"

"Did you check Red X's brain? Have you found the cause of his amnesia?" Raven asked. Red X turned to face Raven, wondering why her sudden interest in making him remember who he really was._ "Maybe she wants me to remember to kick me out of here."_

Cyborg pressed some buttons on the machine next to him. He waited a few seconds and a paper was printed from it. He eyed it carefully for a few minutes before he spoke. "This is interesting. The scan does not show any brain damage. His amnesia was not caused by a hit or an accident."

"What else can cause amnesia?"

"Sometimes people encounter a shocking experience and their brains lock the memories to prevent suffering. It's like a natural defense mechanism."

Starfire sighed, walked towards Red X and sat next to him on the bed. "Your theory makes sense Cyborg. Red X did experience terrible situations, yet he dealt with every single one of them. I do not know what could have forced him to forget everything."

"Maybe it is true that Robin erased his memory. It was a tough time we all went through, especially Red X and you, Star."

Red X pulled the wires connected to his body and his face became one of concern. Starfire eyed-him carefully and realized he had changed. He still had that same resemblance from Robin, but his facial features were different. Now that she looked at him, his eyes were a combination of green and gray, while Robin's eyes were blue. He looked much older and much more mature than the last time she saw him. His shoulders were broader and his arms still looked strong. In essence, he still resembled Robin. Yet, in reality, he was not.

"What happened to me?"

The Titans turned to face him. Since he had moved in with them, they had never seen him act this way. For the first time, he seemed sad and guilty about something _he _did not even know about. His eyes reflected the feeling of emptiness that comes from not knowing who one is, where one came from, and where one belongs. "Tell me, what is it that I forgot?"

Beast Boy hummed while he stood up from the bed and disappeared behind the closed door of the room. Cyborg said he had to check the oil in his T-Car and disappeared as well. Raven rested her left foot and back on the wall, crossing her arms and closing her eyes. Starfire stayed where she was sitting at and began to tell the story as simple as she could. _"I guess no on else will."_ She told him everything since the first time they met until they found him at what was his old home. She excluded the details of his romantic approaches to her, and his jealousy fights with Robin. She did not want to upset him, but did not wish to lie to him either.

"So, I was a bad person? I killed people?"

"It…it was not really you…you were misled…used…You came thru in the end."

Red X shocked his head. "I still hurt many people in the process. Didn't I?"

Starfire slightly nodded. Red X faced her, his eyes looking straight at hers, "Did I ever hurt _you_?"

Raven, who until now had been listening attentively without making any movements, opened her eyes and looked at both of them. Starfire sighed deeply, trying to make him understand the truth without actually having to say anything. Red X closed his eyes in understanding. "When are we staring to look for Robin?"

Starfire inwardly gasped. Raven's face became more quizzical than before. "You mean you wish to help us look for him?"

"The guy went through a lot of trouble to bring me back. The least I can do is to help him return safely to his home."

"I understand," Starfire said. She turned to face Raven who was now a few feet away from them. She knew what Starfire wanted to do. She wanted to start the search for Robin at that exact moment. She did not want to waste more time. The city had granted them an indefinite leave of absence while their health got better, and that time seemed to be now. "Raven…"

"I know, Starfire. There are some things we need to do before we can start searching for Robin."

Starfire eyed her strangely. "Like what?"

"Well, we first need to tell the police we are back in business, and wait for their approval for us to rummage freely on the streets again."

"And…"

"Then we need to find out if the Titans East don't need our help fighting the Brotherhood of Evil. After that we need to train and see how rusty we are. We have been getting out of shape while we were out of it. Besides, there are only four of us now. We need to be better prepared than ever."

"I'll join you."

Raven and Starfire turned to face Red X. He looked at them with a determined face, his grip tight on the edge of the bed. "I want to help too."

"Red X, I do not think that…"

"You can't come with us…you have no powers anymore…"

Red X glared at Raven. He stood up and stopped right in front of her. She did not move an inch. "You guys can train me…I'll train with you…I'll do my best to learn fast…"

"This is not something you learn in a week…training takes months…years"

"I don't care! I'll get it in days…"

"We don't even know if your body can resist the training…"

"It will…"

"We can't risk it!"

"Why don't you want me there?"  
"Because I don't trust you!"

"You don't eve know me!"

"It's you who doesn't know yourself!"

"At least I don't talk down to people I don't know!"

"No! You kill them!"

"Stop!"

Starfire stood in between the argument, placing one hand on her friends' shoulders to stop them from continuing to fight. "Raven, we need the help…all of it we can get…every time we waste time like this, Robin might be on the verge of not returning alive to us. Red X does not need powers. Robin never had any, and that never stopped him before. We can teach Red X how to use Robin's weapons. He can make it…I know it!"

"Starfire, you are blinded by your need to find Robin and are not thinking straight…think things through, we don't want to risk our lives by mistake…we already almost lost them once before. I don't think this is the ans—"

"Shut up!"

Raven flinched for a second before composing herself again, looking at Starfire with a surprised face. "Raven, you do not know how it feels…to fear that Robin might have died already, and we do not even know where he is at. You do not now how it feels at night…how guilty I feel…he is lost because of _me_…because he _saved_ me."

"Don't let your feelings _blind_ you…"

"Do not let your _lack_ of feelings blind _you_!"

Raven was taken aback. Never had she heard Starfire snapback this way. She knew Red X could be a great help if he still had his old powers. Yet, being a regular human did not help much. It was true that Robin was also a mere human, but he was different. _"His circumstances were different…we was born to fight for what is good. Red X was created to kill without cause."_ However, Starfire did not take a chance or gave Raven a chance to express what she thought about the idea.

"I am telling Cyborg Red X will be joining us. I do not wish to hear any excuses from you, Raven. I hope I do not have to remind you that I am the third in command here," Starfire said, eyeing Raven defiantly before she walked out of the room. Red X eyed Raven before shocking his head and following Starfire, closing the door behind him. Raven sighed and hoped they were making the correct decision. _"I didn't mean it like that. If Red X's memory comes back, he might be good…or he might be evil. We can't really trust him…I can't really trust him."_

Raven sat on the bed and held her weight with her hands on the edge of the bed. She played with the edge of the bed by stroking it sideways in a slow motion, as if its texture would suddenly change from cold metal to soft silk to comfort her at the moment.

She thought about everything that had been said and done that day. Starfire acted rather different, not to mention Red X's sudden decision to join them in their quest to find Robin._ "Red X still loves Starfire. Even after dying and coming back to life again, he still has feelings for her."_ Her mind became absent with all these thoughts until an unfamiliar sensation was felt by her hands.

It was a _dent_ on the bed.

No, in fact, there were _two_ dents.

Raven looked down and gasped when she saw two big dents shaped in the form of a fist on the edge of the bed. They both resembled closed fists; a man's closed fists. She placed her hands on both dents and saw how her fingers almost filled both gaps.

The dents were _not_ natural.

They were man-made.

And she knew who these hands belonged too. Raven frowned.

_"It was him…his hands were here…"_

Quick flashbacks of Red X grabbing the edge of the bed came to her. _"He was mad…very mad…he can't control his anger…"_

Raven stared at the crushed metal in front of her. The gurney was made of steel: reinforced steel.

"He's still strong…_extremely_ strong."

Now, more than ever, Raven could not let Red X out of her sight. _"He might be able to fool the others, but he cannot fool me."_

"So, I have to finish this practice battle…again…"

"Yeah…"

"And that's it…again?"

"Yeah…"

"That's the training!" Red X said, looking at Raven with a _you've-gotta-be-kidding-me-this-is-the-hard-training-you-told-me-about_ face.

"Believe me, it's more difficult than it seems."

Red X looked at the obstacle course, a smirk on his face. "If you say so…" Red X dressed in sweatpants, a sleeveless shirt, and tennis shoes. After a heated discussion during breakfast one week ago, Starfire had finally convinced the Titans to allow Red X to train with them. She also wanted to start the search for Robin that same day of her birthday, but Cyborg had convinced her to wait one more week. Today was the day they would officially be back in business and check on the BoE and the Titans East's progress.

Since Starfire's birthday, she had been training Red X intensively on how to use Robin's gadgets. She had gotten him one of Robin's utility belts and had Cyborg adjust Red X's old uniform's belt to fit both his and Robin's gadgets. While Starfire trained him in using Robin's tools, Cyborg had trained him in using the Red X suit. Not surprisingly, he had caught up with the mechanisms of both the suit and the gadgets rather easily. Raven still believed that he was faking his memory loss, while Cyborg believed he just had a natural style for fighting.

"_This is what he was born to do…he has it in his veins."_ Cyborg had told Raven, two days after their training had begun. They had decided to train him for one week before officially becoming active again. Cyborg had made the call a week ago. Jump City's police department had processed the paperwork and liability issues that came with the Titans fighting crime. The Titans were told that they would be called in a week to confirm their status. Today was exactly one week since then, and Starfire anxiously waited for the approval.

Red X eyed his utility belt. He had easily memorized every inch of it and every purpose it served. He still could not believe that Raven had said this training was punishment. He had not broken a sweat more than the Titans had, and today he expected something challenging in the menu. Little did he know, this was exactly what he was going to get.

"Don't take it personal, man, but today we are all attacking you…at the same time." Cyborg said. Red X shrugged and dusted off invisible dirt from both of his shoulders. He knew he could take them all at once. He did not know _why,_ but he _knew_ he could do it.

"Bring it on! I'm bored here!"

"_One would think Robin would have gotten rid of this guy's cockiness…"_ Raven thought.

Cyborg smirked and gave the Titans a signal to prepare for a fight. "We aren't gonna be nice, dude." Beast Boy warned Red X. "S'okay, don't expect me to be nice either."

Starfire's eyes and fists glowed green, two green balls of energy forming around her closed hands. Cyborg's laser cannon aimed directly at him. Raven's dark aura covered the ground he was standing on. Beast Boy morphed into a velociraptor. "Teen Titans…GO!"

Raven lifted the ground Red X was standing on, in an attempt to throw him off balance and flying towards the nearest rock. Red X reacted quicker than she did and jumped high enough to evade the hit. He then threw a red x to her face, covering her mouth. He did not waste any time and threw a hook to her, pulled her towards him and then used her to shield himself from the ancient animal.

Beast Boy tried to stop himself but when he realized what had happened he was too late. Raven pushed him and they both ended up on the rock Raven had wanted to send Red X to. Red X touched the ground only to be bathed by a rain of green and blue lights. Cyborg and Starfire had joined forced and were now mercilessly attacking Red X. He began running away from them, evading as many hits as he could.

Starfire began alternating starbolts with laser beams from her eyes. Red X would duck to evade Cyborg's laser beam, and then jump to evade Starfire's attempts to hit his feet. _"This is ridiculous."_

Red X turned to see Starfire and Cyborg only a few feet away from him. He reached for the button on his belt and pressed it twice. He was gone. Cyborg and Starfire stopped in their tracks and looked at each other and then around them. "Where did he go?"

Starfire shock her head and floated even higher to try to spot him before he appeared behind them by surprise. Raven and Beast Boy joined Cyborg and slowly examined the area around them. "He's tricky…he can appear almost any--"

Cyborg did not get to finish his sentence. Red X had appeared from the _ground_, just right behind him and had kicked him on the back. Raven gaped when she saw Cyborg fly forward and then skid, face first, for a few feet until he stopped. Cyborg turned and saw Red X fighting against Raven and Beast Boy again. This time he had resorted to punches and kicks to tire them off. _"Son of a bitch…!"_

Starfire saw the scene developing below by her starbolts hitting the ground. Starfire flew directly above the dust, knowing Red X would make a run for it._ "He will get out before anyone else." _Starfire thought. Cyborg stood up and ran towards the dusty cloud, also waiting for Red X to come out. It only took a few more seconds when they saw the black and red shadow to appear behind them.

Both Cyborg and Starfire reacted quicker than they realized and attacked the person behind them. It was not until they had blasted their friend that they realized who they had really attacked: Beast Boy.

Red X had brought Beast Boy out of the cloud with him. He then had given Starfire and Cyborg his back, waiting for them to shoot. He knew they would react quickly and waste no time to attack him. Red X then had turned, exposing Beast Boy in front of him. Before Starfire and Cyborg could have registered who was actually getting hit, Beast Boy was already on the floor, half unconscious.

"Beast Boy!"

Raven cleared the dust cloud with her powers, and the first thing that her eyes saw were the green youngster falling face down to the ground. Her eyes bugged open and then glared at Red X_. "He did that on purpose!" _Raven's mind went blank. All she could see was Beast Boy on the ground, lying face down. _"It's just like that _time_! Just like that last time!"_ Raven's head began spinning at the memory. The scene was very similar to the one they have both lived back at the burning warehouse. _"We almost lost him…we won't lose him…"_

The ground in front of her began getting a dark color. It began flying upwards, throwing pointy rocks towards Red X. Raven's eyes turned red, enraged at the actions Red X had taken. _"I knew we couldn't trust him…I knew he was still a traitor…"_

Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy and threw both of them to the ground to cover himself from Raven's attacks. "Raven, stop it!"

Raven did not listen. Her attacks did not stop.

Starfire screamed at Raven, begging her to stop. Her target was not just Red X, but anyone who stood in her way. "Raven…please stop! You will hurt yourself!"

Raven did not stop.

Starfire looked at Cyborg and Beast Boy on the ground. She then looked at Red X, taking a direct blow of the attacks. She then looked at Raven. _"I have to make her stop."_

Starfire flew directly towards Raven. She shield herself with a green orb made of starbolts, burning the rocks before they even got near her. Raven's attacks increased as the distance between the two female Titans shortened. Raven smirked and opened her mouth to speak in a demonic overlapped voice: "You think you can defeat me, little girl?"

Starfire did not respond and flew even faster. She kept her shield with her left hand, and began creating a powerful starbolt on her right hand. Raven opened her arms and her energy increased, sending Red X flying farther from the battle scene. Red X rolled on the floor three times until he forced himself to stop. He searched for Starfire with his eyes, feeling the need to assure himself she was alright_. "She has to be ok! I have to save her!"_

Starfire flinched at the increase in energy in Raven, but it was not enough to stop the Tamarean. Starfire lifted her arm and sent the starbolt she had been accumulating in her hand straight at Raven's stomach. _"I do not wish to kill her, just stop her."_ Starfire closed her eyes, awaiting the explosion the collision of energies would surely bring, but instead she was surprised when she was hit from above and sent to the ground.

Starfire's face hit the floor flat out. She pushed herself up, her green flashing eyes searching for the cause of her current situation. Raven was no where to be seen. She could not find her. She was gone.

Or was she?

Starfire began searching for her other friends and completely ignored the trap developing underneath her. The ground beneath her was again turning black, forming a perfect circle around her. She spotted Cyborg carrying Beast Boy away from the scene, and Red X slowly standing up from the ground. She moved her head from side to side and up, but Raven was not there. "Where did she go?"

Before Starfire could take a next breath, a dark aura surrounded her completely, encircling her in a constricting and rapidly decreasing bubble made by Raven. Starfire used her bolts to attempt to break the bubble but her energy bounced around, eventually hitting its own creator. "My powers are not working!"

Raven's face was being filled by two pairs of eyes now as her demonic transformation was taking place. She was loosing control rapidly; she was going to kill Starfire if she was not stopped soon.

Red X stood up and saw the horrifying scene. He forgot his injures and an unfamiliar feeling of worrying and need to save Starfire filled his body and soul. He felt an invisible hand grab his heart and compress it at will, making it harder to breathe. His legs became independent from his body and began taking him towards Starfire.

He forgot who he was.

He forgot where he was.

He only knew he had to save Starfire, no matter what it took.

Red X's ears blocked and he could only hear Starfire's pleadings to Raven to stop. Everything around him became unimportant, and his eyes were fixed on Starfire and the person hurting her. As if on its own accord, Red X's body jumped high behind Raven. His arms were quick to move, and his hands were kick to find the correct gadgets for the occasion. His mind was not thinking; he was moving without thought.

Raven noticed the intruder closing in. She lifted more rocks to throw at him as that had stopped him before. Red X's hand reached to his belt and disappeared from the path the rocks had taken. Raven was only able to see a fast shadow move from one side to the other, successfully avoiding painful hits. "Stay put you bastard!"

Red X pulled out his grappling hook and aimed it at the ground. Before Raven could react, Red X had pulled out a second grappling hook and she was now surrounded by it. He then pushed a green button on both hooks and a great discharge of energy was felt by Raven. She screamed her lungs out, falling to the ground and releasing Starfire. Starfire gasped for air, placing her hand on her throat as if the incoming air was burning her inside. It was painful not to breathe, but the sudden air made her sick as well.

Even though Raven was back to her normal looking self, Red X would not stop. He kept shocking her and was now pressing harder on her back with his boot. Starfire extended her hand to him and asked him to stop. He did not stop. It was not him who did not listen. "I will kill you!" Red X said.

"No you won't!"

Cyborg aimed his cannon at Red X and discharged before Red X had the chance to escape. Red X was blown away from Raven who was now unconscious. Starfire stayed on the ground, taking deep breathes and controlling the fearful tears coming from her eyes. "This cannot be happening! What just happened?"

Starfire lifted her head and looked at Red X on the ground. Raven was being carried by Cyborg and Beast Boy was waking up. She looked at Cyborg's shameful face and her eyes closed. She hung her head in shame as well and began crying her heart out.

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

Part II of this coming sooner than this chapter. Sorry for the delay :(


	19. Cryptic Clues: Part 2

**A/N: Only three chapters left! :D**

**Cryptic Clues**

**Part 2**

Red X walked down the halls of Giant "T." His head hurt and he had no idea how he had ended up on his bed. He remembered the training, and Raven losing control, but that was the last thing he was able to recall. He rubbed his neck, attempting to ease the soreness that invaded his neck and lower back. He felt like finding the others and asking what had happened. He walked and walked, with no apparent destination. His mind had no definite target, but his heart did; just as before.

The more he wandered, the more worried he grew about the Titans' whereabouts and well-being, especially Starfire's. He did not know why, but since he had opened his eyes back then at that empty cold house, and had seen the sparkle in her eyes, he had not been able to stop thinking about her. He felt as if he had met her before, and even though he had been told he _had_, he could not remember anything that involved him and her together_. "I wish I was able to remember her…just her…something about us…together…if only…"_

His legs stopped moving as if on cue, and he realized he had stopped in front of Starfire's room. He felt a knot create in his throat at the thought of speaking to her. He had been somewhat infatuated with her when he saw her for the first time again. However, when he woke up just minutes ago, his need to see her –_embrace _her had become quite strong. He lifted his arm to knock on the door but a small noise coming from inside the room stopped him from doing so.

It was a sob.

It was Starfire.

She was crying.

He immediately pressed his ear on the door to hear her better. He made sure he was quiet to not disturb her, but if he heard she needed him he would be inside her room in a heartbeat. He quieted down and concentrated on her voice. He heard her sob again and whisper, _"Robin…where _are_ you?"_

Red X stopped breathing.

His chest rose as that of one who feels betrayal pour out of one's pores. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. He glared at the piece of metal that separated him from the one he loved. _"The one I love…love?"_

This line made Red X come back to reality. He blinked several times. His breathing turned normal and his hands slowly opened. He took a deep breath and looked around him. What had happened to him just now? Where did all that anger come from? Where did all that jealousy come from? Where did all this love for her come from? _"What the heck is happening to me?"_

Red X decided this was not the best time to talk to her. He moved away from the door as quietly as possible, and once he was far away from the room he quickened his pace. He hoped to find any of the other Titans to ask for an explanation. Now more than just minutes ago he needed someone to establish clearness in his life. He knew he did not know who he was. He knew he did not remember what happened during the training. But for God's sake he needed to find out what was happening to him right now.

Starfire sobbed for the last time. She had been crying since the training ended a few hours ago. The occurrences of the day repeated again and again in her mind, as if trying to remind her that it had indeed happened and that she had not dreamt any of it. Raven had lost control. Red X had lost control. Neither of them have had enough power to stop them. She had thought Cyborg's attack had stopped Red X but before they were able to take a breath of relief, he stood up again, his eyes red as fire.

He walked towards Raven, muttering that he was not allowing her to hurt Starfire. _"No one hurts her while I am alive,"_ he had said. Raven stayed unconscious. Cyborg blasted Red X again and again, trying to stop him but he would not budge. Starfire's final resort was to stop him herself with a rain of alternating starbolts and laser beams from her eyes. Red X had finally given up and collapsed a few feet away from Raven. Cyborg took Beast Boy to the ER. Starfire took Raven and Red X there as well.

Thankfully for them, none had been seriously injured; at least not the point of extending their _returning to work day_, or stopping their trainings for more than two days. Raven had healed herself, and when awake, he healed the rest of the Titans, including Red X. Even though she did not mention it, the Titans could tell she felt embarrassed for losing control and putting all of them in danger. She did not blame Red X for losing control either. After everything he had been through, she did not blame the guy for trying to defend himself. If he had not stopped her, who knows what damage might had she had caused to her friends.

Starfire felt grateful that no one had been put in serious danger, but she could not help to shiver at the memory of that last attack she used against Red X. _"It was just like last time…like that first time I made the others believe he was dead."_ The feelings of fear and hatred mixed in his eyes; the determination to stop her assailant; the need to protect her from anything and everything. She saw it all in his eyes. It was that time all over again. His past was not only coming back to him; it was _taking_ over him.

The first thing Starfire had done after making sure her friends were alright was to run to her room and turn on her laptop. She wasted no time in continuing her search on the mainstream computer about Robin's plans to revive Red X. She knew Robin had to use the mainstream to find Red X's old place. There just _had_ to be some files that related to Red X. She knew Robin was good at hiding valuable things, but she also knew she was good at _finding_ them and taking them back.

She had spent the past hours checking every file in existence. She found files for each of the enemies they had faced, except Red X. She then searched in the "Titans" category and found no file with Red X's name on it. She continued her search inside the "Honorary Titans" category and nothing was to be found. She looked in "unclassified," and "unknown," but there was no sign of Red X's file. She was positive she would find his file under the enemies or villains category but she had no success. _"Damn you Robin for keeping secrets from me!"_

Starfire did not usually curse in other language than her native one. However, she had been looking for Red X's files for days, weeks now, and she was growing frustrated. She had tried checking the copied version of the Titans mainstream back at Red X's old house, but nothing she found there was of use. She knew Robin would not keep this project of his on paper and pencil. He have had to store it this computer, it had to be somewhere in…

"_Allies."_

The newest folder caught her eyes. She eyed the folder suspiciously before checking the properties of it. Starfire gasped at the date of creation of the folder: it had been created when she was back in Tamaran, when Galfore had gotten married. _"When I had that mysterious dream with Robin."_ Starfire bit her lip. She wondered why Robin or anyone had created a separate folder for _Allies_ when they could have been easily categorized under _Honorary Titans_. All of their allies were Honorary Titans. All of them except…  
"Red X."

Her hand covered her mouth. She double-clicked the folder to open it and to her surprise, there was only one folder inside it.

It read _Red Shadow_.

She had found something. She did not know if this was what she was looking for, but this closer to success than she had been since she started her search.

Starfire opened the folder and was overwhelmed by the amount of files it stored. There were pictures, journal entries, and scans from the newspaper, maps and diagrams of weapons. The amount of valuable information stored inside this folder was enough to make the most devoted fan crazy with happiness. This was what she was looking for, she had finally found it! _"Why is this under a different name?"_

Starfire shook her head and concentrated on looking for anything that could tell her how Robin had found Red X's old home. She arranged the files by type and was frustrated to see the huge number of journals Robin had about Red X. The journal entries were titled by date, some of the days had five or more parts to it, as if Robin had written something in the morning, then something else at noon, then in the afternoon and night. He had been working real hard to find him, and his hard work had paid off.

Starfire read each and every single one of the journal entries. She encountered old information that for Robin had been new, and new information that for Robin was old. She read every single sentence with tedious carefulness, making sure nothing of importance escaped her. She read, read, and re-read every journal at least twice before she moved onto another date. She placed special care to the days which had multiple entries, comparing and contrasting the reasons why Robin had felt the necessity to create a new entry rather than expanding the already existing one.

She searched throughout the documents, looking for any clues that would hint her on the reason why Red X had lost his memory, and maybe a clue to Robin's whereabouts. _"If Beast Boy was correct; if this was Robin's plan B, I must find plan A."_

Starfire held her breath.

She found the word she was looking for: home.

"_Today, after a strange dream, I received what I had believed was an attempted contact from Star. The symbol on my communicator said that there was an incoming call from Starfire. The signal pointed to a location near Jump City. I pinpointed the exact location and headed there."_

Starfire stopped reading when she felt tears forming in her eyes. Robin had the same dream as her. He did miss her when she was gone. She should had never left. She should have never left his side. "How did I ever doubt him?" She blinked to dry out her tears and continued reading.

_I arrived to the place the signal was coming from. The strange warehouse seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. It gave me an eerie feeling, like those feelings that invaded me when I discovered Slade's lairs. This place had a slight resemblance to them, or at least from the outside it did._

_ To my surprise, the inside had been occupied by someone I knew. My first thought and hope was to find Starfire. Yet, she was nowhere to be found and no where to be seen. This was not Starfire's hideout. This was Red X's home._

_ This finding was crucial to project Red Shadow. Regardless of what Starfire had said, I can no longer live with the guilt over my shoulders. I see myself murdering this person every single night. I have the technology to give him a better life. Thanks to this place I think I now will. I was able to find hair samples in the bathroom. I doubt they belong to Starfire as they are dark and short. I remember Red X saying he had taken a shower before he realized Starfire was gone. He never returned to this place. This hair sample must belong to him._

_ I will need to perform the necessary procedures out of the Titans' reach. That warehouse can prove to be a useful hiding place and makeshift laboratory. The only things I need to find is a way to erase his memory. He must not return to life with any guilt in his mind. This can give him a chance to start over. Start over away from our bad luck. _

_ He must also not grab anyone's attention. I will also attempt a stabilization of his genes to control his powers. He will become a normal human being. He will not have to be anyone's slave. _

_ Another important topic is the issue of my bond with him. This must be completely broken and prevented from occurring again. His life span must also be extended. He must live long enough to see his grandchildren at least…"_

Starfire closed her eyes. Everything seemed to be falling into place now. Even though she was mad at Robin for succeeding in his idea of playing X'hal, she now knew what had pushed him to do so. Robin was a good man, and his feelings of regret did not leave him alone. _"I cannot judge him. I let Red X live once. I cannot ask for Robin to not attempt to amend his mistakes."_

Starfire sighed and decided this had been enough for her for just one day. She memorized the name of the file she was reading and proceeded to close the rest of the documents she had. She would study them later. She was sure that this folder had more information than she could think right now. _"Perhaps I should ask Cyborg to help me analyze this new piece of information."_

Starfire stretched her arms and yawned. She felt so much better now that she had found new nope. "This is just one more step to helping Red X, and maybe even finding Robin as well. Just hang in there. I am coming for you."

Starfire placed her laptop on the floor and was fast asleep in a few minutes. She needed all the rest she could get. Tomorrow they were back on duty. Tomorrow they would get back to their usual life.

xXx

Red X reached the door that led him to the roof. He had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. He had been walking around Titans' Tower, searching for anyone who would answer his questions. To his dismay, both Cyborg and Beast Boy were fast asleep by now, and Starfire was not to be disturbed. He did not know if Raven was available but he was afraid of disturbing her. "She must be pissed at me for that fight we had before the training. She doesn't trust me. I just know it…and she also told me, anyway."

The door cracked open and he carefully closed it behind him, trying not to make as much noise as he had already have. The cold night breeze surrounded him, making him shiver for a few seconds. He frantically rubbed his arms up and down to lessen the chill, and turned to watch the amazing view of the city. "_We are back on duty tomorrow. Tomorrow is a grand day!"_

Red X's face turned angry at the though of the titans rummaging the streets again. He felt completely useless compared to them. They all had some power which placed them above him. Even Robin whose only strength came from his training was easily better than him when it came to fighting. Maybe Raven was correct. Maybe he was just only going to get on their way. Maybe he should stay at the Tower and serve as the information provider from the Tower's mainstream. He growled and kicked an invisible rock. "It's not like I am a Titan or anything…I'll just slow them down."

"If getting on the way is what you did today, I wouldn't mind you doing it again."

Red X turned back to the door and saw a shadowy figure on the back walk towards the area where the moon lightened the roof. It was Raven.

She kept walking and stopped right next to him. He did not flinch when she approached him, but he noticed that she was not wearing anything else but her uniform. "Aren't you cold?" Raven shook her head. "I can control my temperature when I meditate," she said, and in a blink of an eye she was levitating, eyes closed and all.

Red X sat on the floor, imitating Raven's flying position. "Why do you meditate so much?" Raven smirked and allowed her aura to grow bigger until it surrounded the both of them, providing them shelter from the cold. "Nice, a transparent blanket!"

Raven nodded. "I meditate to control my powers like that. I once let lose and it wasn't pretty," Raven said as she recalled the incident with Trigon taking over the world through her. Red X furrowed and examined Raven's concentration. She did not seem mad at him, not even a little bit upset. He truly believed she was still holding a grudge against him, but her attitude showed the complete opposite. Perhaps she could explain what happened during the training. Maybe he has just passed out. "It seems to me you have everything under control."

Raven's face fell. Red X felt the change in her aura as a reply to his comment. _"Shit, way to go, X!" _They kept quiet for a few minutes, Red X wondering if he should stay or run for his life. The latter option won. He slowly stood up and stared at Raven for a second before starting to walk way from her. He reached the barrier created by her aura and he smacked himself on it. _"Ouch!"_ Red X thought and rubbed his face. _"I should have run for my life when I had the chance."_

"I'm sorry," Raven said.

Red X stopped his attempt to cross the barrier and met her gaze. "It's ok; I didn't mean to slam myself on your aura." Raven shook her head. "I am sorry about earlier today."

"Oh! I'm sorry I even started the argument. Is Starfire still mad at you?"

"What?"

"She was pretty upset, remember? She walked out of the emergency room and…"

"I wasn't talking about that."

"Oh?"

"I meant…the training."

Red X shrugged, giving her an apologetic smile. "You told me it was going to be hard. I should have listened to you."

"But you did extremely well."

"Sure I did!" he rolled his eyes. "Passing out in the middle of the training isn't very good if you ask me."

Raven arched and eyebrow. Red X gave her a questioning look and allowed her to speak first. "Are we talking about the same thing?"

"Are we?"

"Training?"

"Yeah…"

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"Cyborg telling me to do the training all over again."

"And after that?"

"Me waking up in my room with a huge headache."

"I see."

"What did I miss?"

Raven sighed. _"He doesn't remember, great!"_

"I…lost control of my powers. I tried to kill you."

Red X's eyes bugged open. "You…still mad?" Raven shook her head. "We are kind of even. I tried to kill you and attacked Starfire. You attacked me to save her."

Red X sat down on the floor again. He closed his eyes as if attempting to remember what Raven had just told him. He could not remember anything. There was a blank space in his mind. "If I stopped you, then who stopped me?"

"Starfire did. She didn't mean to harm you; she just had to stop you from going after me after I had passed out."

Red X nodded.

"You see, my powers are controlled by emotions. The more I feel the more power I unleash. However, sometimes one cannot control emotions, thus my powers are let loose as well. It wasn't your fault. Your old sense of self-preservation kicked in. I was so upset at everything that is happening and tried to keep it inside. I just couldn't take it anymore when I saw you attacking Beast Boy. It reminded me of the night we lost Robin. It was just so damn similar."

Red X nodded and sighed heavily. It was now clear to him that something bad had happened and that he was somewhat responsible for it. Even though he could not remember for the life of him what exactly had transpired hours ago, he knew it had not been any good. He felt the shame display on his face and posture. He could not believe he almost killed a Teen Titan!

_"Wait…how did even get close to doing that?"_

"How…what do you mean my _old self-preservation instinct_ kicked in? What exactly did I do?"

"Let's just say that your strength returned, and your fighting skills were the same as before. Even if you don't remember it, you were once a great opponent, always fighting to stay alive. It seems Robin was not able to contain that in you. He wanted you to have a normal life, but I guess that is not your destiny."

_"Destiny…"_

"Everyone is ok anyway. We could use more training like the ones we had before. As long as I stay calmed and we don't trigger that instinct in you, we will be just fine. Can you control that strength? Is it back to you or was it for just that one moment?"

Red X shrugged. "I don't know. I don't feel any stronger than a regular human feels."

"Let's prove that theory."

Raven closed her eyes and aimed her energy at a big boulder at the bay of their Tower. She brought it up to the roof and placed it right next to Red X. The barrier that she had made to protect them from the cold was gone. Red X looked at her and arched and eyebrow. "Do you want me to lift this or are you gonna squash me with it?"

"What do you think?"

"Err…one second…"

Red X walked around the boulder, examining it very carefully. How was he supposed to even hold the big rock? He touched the rock all around, trying to find a crack or something that would make his attempt less amusing to her. The boulder was too big to grab with both hands. He growled. "Seriously Raven," he began with an irritated voice and resting a hand on the boulder, "how I am supposed to even begin carrying this piece of sh—"

He stopped.

The boulder slid across the floor with no problem at all. Red X turned to watch the rock. It had been moved at least 3 feet away from him. He glared at Raven. "Did you move it?"

Raven shook her head, her eyes full of surprise. Red X walked closer to the boulder and placed the tip of his index finger on it. He switched his gaze back and forth from Raven to the stone. Fearing he would break his finger but full of curiosity, he dared to apply force to his finger. The boulder slid again. Raven's mouth gaped open.

Red X stared at his finger and then at his entire hand. The weight of the boulder had not affected him. It was as if he was pushing a big pillow! He chuckled at this revelation and did not lose time at placing his hands at the bottom sides of the boulder. He did not need to cover it completely, just hold it as much as he could. He crouched and closed his eyes. Raven intently watched his actions. Was he going to pick it up with his bare hands? One thing was to push it, but another was to mess his back trying to carry it on his own!

"I don't think that is a good idea, X. You can really harm…"

She could not finish her statement. Red X was now holding the boulder above his head…with one hand.

"Hey! I didn't know I could do this!"

Red X began throwing the boulder up and down as if it was a mere beach ball. He could not believe he was _so _strong!

"This is great! I can help you out if I have this power…you think I am stronger than Cyborg? I want to challenge him to a match…bet some money…kick his ass!"

"I think you have surpassed Cyborg's strength. You are probably more along the lines of Starfire."

Raven began to get annoyed at his cockiness which had seemed to suddenly return. She used her powers to grab the boulder and returned it where it belonged. Red X's face was filled with joy, and a big, bright smile plastered on his face. "So much…_power_…" he said while closing his fists in front of his face.

"Now you just have to learn to control it."

Red X nodded. "Meditate?"

"Yes."

Red X sat on the floor next to Raven and listened attentively as she explained the meditation process to him. "It's not difficult once you find your center," she said.

Red X closed his eyes and mimicked Raven's posture. She began chanting her characteristic words and Red X immediately followed. Before he knew it, his ears were not picking up any sound around him. Raven's voice began to fade until it was no more. The cold weather dissipated as well, and he barely felt his body. It all became silent and dark in his mind; perhaps too quiet and too dark…for him.

"_Kill Starfire"_

"_What?"_

"_I created you to kill her. I want Robin alive…once the alien is dead, Robin will have no other option but to serve me."_

"_What's goin' on"?_

Red X's mind filled with flashing memories. They were too fast for him to remember where he had lived them. He saw a man he had never seen before. His face was covered with a mask, and he had only one eye. He then saw himself talking to this man. He did not know why, but he knew they were related somehow. _"What is happening to me?"_

Memories he had no idea that were stored in his mind returned to him if only for a second. He saw the Titans fight against the masked man, and against him. The Titans' faces crept inside his mind, one after the other. He saw them laugh, cry and scream. He heard his voices yelling at him and at the masked man. _"Slade, his name is Slade."_

More scenes and memories kept appearing in his mind. The more he tried to evade them, the more revealing and hurtful they became. He tried to break the concentration. He could not take it anymore. So many hurtful memories; so many people he had harmed. He saw his battle against Robin. It had been raining. He had…died.

"_Robin killed me…"_

He then saw the rest of the villains and Slade's lair. He saw his home, where he had been found. He saw the dead villains. He saw Starfire die. _"No…I can't…"_

"_Starfire…stay with me…"_

"_Starfire…don't die…"_

"_Starfire, I love you…"_

Red X screamed. His eyes opened and he saw Raven's face above him. "Are you ok?"

Red X was breathing heavily and he could not help to tremble. He shook his head and stood up. His head spin and almost lost his balance. Raven held him and looked at him with concern. "What did you see?"

Red X shook his head again. "I don't remember, but I didn't like it."

He patted Raven's shoulder and stood straight. He thanked Raven for her help and made his way to the door. He needed to sleep. He was not feeling well. He walked towards the door and opened it, talking to Raven one last time before he left. "Big day tomorrow…better get some sleep."

Raven nodded and saw him disappear behind the door. She closed her eyes and continued her meditation, knowing that dawn was about to break.

xXx

"I am glad you Titans are feeling much better."

"Thank you, sir"

"Everything is ready; you guys can start making our city safe again anytime you wish."

"Great! We have a new member, though."

"Instead of…Robin."

"No, _besides_ Robin, while we find him…"

"I _see_…it's ok."

The Titans were seated on their comfortable couch, watching the conference between the city's Police Department and themselves. The chief that had accommodated them during their time of need displayed on their big screen. Starfire felt anxious to get back out there and continue the search for Robin out in the city._ "Why must we wait for the red tape?"_

"We have been investigating your case. We found nothing else at the warehouse; nothing we did not know anyway."

"Can we survey the area with our own machines?"

"Feel free to do so. Our experts haven't found anything in the past weeks. What we _did _find was a similar warehouse in Steel City."

"What?"

The Titans looked at each other and spoke only with their eyes. What was a warehouse full of weapons doing in Steel City?

"Yes, that was our reaction as well."

"Did you find anyone inside?"

"No, we found ammunition similar to the one in the warehouse here in Jump City. It seems to us they belonged to the same person."

"Who?"

"We don't know yet."

"Perhaps they were taking advantage of the Titans East's absence. How is that going, by the way?"

"We don't know. We are getting a report from them in a few moments. We can deviate the signal to your Tower if you want."

"That'd be nice."

The Titans had woken up early and just after they had finished having breakfast, their training had begun. They trained until noon, showered and got ready for the teleconference they were to have today. Raven had kept an eye on Red X all day long, looking for signs of unstableness provoked by the cut-short meditation. He seemed fine to her. Yet, she could not dissipate the feeling that something was going terrible wrong.

Starfire had been the last one to wake up. She had spent most of the night finding new information about Red X. She had prepared a report for the rest of the Titans that she wanted to present to them as soon as their other duties were finished. She only had to wait after they talked to the Titans East after their progress with the BoE and they would be free to begin searching for Robin again.

Now that she had heard there was another warehouse in Steel City like the one they almost died in at Jump City, her feelings that all of the crimes were connected grew stronger. It was too much of a coincidence that the Titans East had to leave to deal with the BoE at the exact time the Titans were unable to battle. And why had the warehouse in Steel City been abandoned without a trace of whom it belonged to?

Starfire's concentration broke when he heard Speedy appear on the screen. "Heya, babes! Long time no see!" he said referring to Raven and Starfire.

Raven rolled her eyes and Starfire smirked. "I bet you wouldn't say that to Star if a certain someone was here to hear you," Beast Boy teased.

"You mean the Boy Wonder? Why the _hell _do you think I am saying this while he is gone? By the time he finds out and wants to kick my ass, I'll be long gone and hiding somewhere in Timbuktu."

Suddenly, Speedy was pushed out of the screen by Bumblebee. She eyed Cyborg and winked at him. Cyborg blushed. "Hey, Sparky! Missed me?"

Beast Boy pouted and crossed his arms and legs. "Why doesn't anyone have a crush on _me_?"

"Because you smell like tofu and your jokes aren't funny."

"Raven…"

Starfire patted Beast Boy's head and gave him a big hug. Beast Boy sighed and returned the embrace. _"Better now than later when Robin comes back. He'll cut my arms if he'd seen this!"_

"What do you have for us?" Cyborg asked Bumblebee.

"Well, the BoE's main lair is at France. We have gathered many of the Honorary Titans and some other superheroes we found in the way to help us defeat it. The Doom Patrol says hi, _Logan_."

Beast Boy sank on his seat. "Why me?"

Raven smirked. "Logan…_nice_."

"Anyway," Bumblebee continued, "we have control over the situation. I see you guys are feeling better?"

"Yeah…we just got back on duty before you guys called. We are ready to kick some butt!"

"Awesome…I see you all five…wait…who's the new guy?"

Aqualad pushed Bumblebee away from the screen and searched for the fifth person she had mentioned. "Is that Red X?"

Speedy pushed Aqualad off the screen.

"The hell? Wasn't he dead?"

He cleared his throat. "It's a long story. I might tell you later."

"Okey," Bumblebee said from behind.

"Anyway, any word on Robin's whereabouts?"

Cyborg shook his head. "We are starting the search today. If we know something, you'll guys know something."

"Maybe you oughta go to Steel City. Check the warehouse that ain't burned yet," Bumblebee suggested.

"Yeah, that can be a start."

Bumblebee looked at her friends through the screen. They looked the same as before, but their faces had changed. They looked more mature. They looked exhausted. They looked fed up.

"I am glad you guys are alright. Take care of yourselves ok? We have to go now."

"We will. Stay in touch."

Bumblebee nodded and the screen turned black.

The Titans kept quiet for a minute; absorbing the new pieces of information they had just been given. The puzzle seemed to be getting more and more complicated. Was not that always their luck?

The silence was broken by a stomach rumble. Beast Boy's stomach rumble. The rest of the Titans looked at him and he blushed. "Anyone up for pizza?"

xXx

Twenty empty boxes of pizza lay around the table where the Titans sat. Starfire clapped at Red X who had again beat Cyborg in eating the most pizzas. Beast Boy's face was green and Cyborg held his stomach. "I think I'm gonna throw up!"

"That's what you get for eating without chewing you food," Raven said.

"Bite me!"

Starfire sighed and started at them all. She had been dying to share her information with them. It was now or never. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. She cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Friends, there is something you must know."

The Titans started at her quizzically while she took a deep breath and began to talk. "I have been…searching the Tower's computer…every now and then."

"We know, Star," Raven said, "What did you find?"

Starfire looked embarrassed of her failed attempt to keep her searching a secret. She shook her head to clear her mind of the embarrassment and focused on what she wanted to say. She looked a Red X's eyes. He blinked and then looked away, feeling the blood rush to his head. _"Does she know how I feel about her?"_

"It's about Red X. I found Robin's file about him."

Everyone stopped breathing for an instant. Starfire swallowed hard. "Starfire, I _searched _for his file and never found it…where did you find it?"

Starfire looked at Cyborg apologetically, a faint smile on her lips. "His file is under a folder titled 'Allies,' and he is under 'Red Shadow,' not 'Red X'."

"Red Shadow?"

"Indeed…Robin explains how and why he did what he did to you," she said while looking at Red X. "He wanted you to be normal and forget about us…I guess I ruined his plan when I suggested to wake you up."

Red X shook his head. "If it hadn't been for you, I would have probably been there forever until I'd rotten!"

Starfire shook her head again. "That is what I thought as well…but after reading what Robin had to say, I regretted bringing you back into our lives. We are full of problems every day. You had suffered enough…we…_I_…had no right to…"

Starfire stopped.

The communicator was ringing.

They had not heard that sound in a while, taking them time to react.

"Is that…?"

"Yes…"

"Answer it!"

"Cyborg clumsily grabbed the communicator and opened it to read the report. He mumbled something only he could understand before looking at the Titans with a straight face. "This is kind of out of our jurisdiction, but I am sure Robin would have wanted us to check it out."

"What is it?"

"Someone is robbing Wayne's Enterprises."

**A/N: **There are 3 more chapters and an epilogue left. I really, really plan to finish this story before the end of this month. If I don't, I will be even busier to update. I hope you liked the chapter, and here's a really small preview of the next chapter:

Red X: "Were you…together with him?"

Starfire: "Yes, we were…._extremely_ close."


	20. Enemies

_**Chapter 18**_

**Enemies**

Beast Boy morphed into a mouse and ran across the dark hallways of Wayne's Enterprises. He had never felt better, running freely in the building, searching for the intruder they were looking for. The rush of hunting a villain, the uncertainty of the thief's plans, and the adrenaline of his job came back to him. He loved his job; all of them did, and they were glad they were back on business again. _"It seems forever since we had a mission like this."_

The Titans had been given permission to step outside their jurisdiction to take care of this particular incident, given that they were to be as quiet as possible and make the less mess as possible as well, as opposed to the last time they were here –_without_ permission might it be added. Cyborg had assigned each of the Titans a specific floor to investigate. Every employee in the building had been dismissed earlier, allowing the Titans not to be noticed by anyone else. Their mission was a secret. The thief had gone inside the building hours before the closing time, but the vice-president of the company did not want any witnesses. He wanted the issue to be taken care of as quickly and painless as possible.

Beast Boy had been assigned to the first floor. Raven to the second floor. Cyborg to the third floor. Red X to the fourth floor, and Starfire to the fifth floor. Bruce Wayne had not been happy the last time the Titans attempted to help him. The device that had been guarded had been stolen, by Robin nonetheless, and he had to replace the neon letters on the roof. This time, the Titans were instructed to be a little bit less reckless and bit more effective.

Beast Boy's concentration was lost when he spotted a shadowy figure reach the stairs to the second floor. _"Argh, he got away!"_

He strained his eyes to try and see who the thief was, but he was only able to see long hair and what told him the thief was not a he, but a _she_. He waited long enough for the intruder to climb upstairs before morphing back into his human form. He grabbed his communicator and contacted the rest of the Titans.

"Sparky, Sparky, this is Grass Stain, you copy?"

"…the hell?"

"I've spotted the bad dude who is not really a dude, but a dudette!"

"What?"

"She's heading to Raven's territory, do you copy Cloaky Girl?"

"Beast Boy…"

"Why are you talking like that?"

"To prevent the intruder from catching our drift, Maroon Cross,"

Cyborg sighed and Raven growled.

"Are you sure it's a she, BB?"

"I'm sure as candy."

"…"

"Were you able to see her face?" Starfire asked. "I couldn't see her face, Hot Alien Momma, but I am sure she's a girl."

"Hot…Alien…Momma…?"

"How do you know?"

"She has pillows on the front."

"…"

"What?"

"She has boobs, people! Boobs! Damn, you're really messing up my code!"

"Shut the fuck up, Grass Stain. Raven, are you in position?"

"I see her, Raven out!"

Raven closed her communicator and merged with the wall behind her. She traveled through the concrete, following the intruder's every move. The thief did not seem to have a definite destination as she was searching every place on the floor for something only she knew what it was. Raven watched her carefully, hoping to learn her identity as soon as possible.

The thief ran to the closest window, an object in her hands. Raven looked at her up and down, getting as close as she could. She growled inwardly. The thief was not a she, but a _he_. _"Damn you Beast Boy and your faulty eyes!"_

Suddenly, the thief stopped moving, maybe even breathing. He slowly looked back, as if expecting someone to be standing behind him. He dropped the item he held to the floor and continued running to the stairs that would take him to the third floor. He was so fast Raven had trouble catching up with him, and for a moment she swore she saw two shadows. _"He's gone!"_

Raven rematerialized herself a few feet away from the door, quickly pulling her communicator out and contacting the rest of the Titans. "You idiot! It's not a girl! The guy _is_ a guy!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Where is she, _he_ going?"

"Upstairs, he'll be with you any moment now, Cyborg!"

"Roger…out!"

"Who's Roger?" Beast Boy asked. The Titans again ignored him and turned off their communicators.

Cyborg hid behind a desk. It was moments like these he regretted how big he was. He wanted to wait behind a chair where he could easily spot the thief but he would have revealed himself rather quickly. _"He's not getting away from me!"_

The thief ran inside and never stopped until he reached the other staircase. To Cyborg's surprise, the thief was not a guy…but a girl! "Son of a…it's a chick!" Cyborg reached for his communicator and told the Titans the news.

"Will you make up your mind? Is it a guy or girl?"

"Does it make any difference?"

"Knowing what you are up against with is good."

"Raven says it's a guy. Cyborg and I say it's a girl. That's two against one!"

"You guys are just horny!"

"So are you, Rae!"

"Please, stop the fighting…we must-"

"Shhh, he's here," Red X said.

Red X jumped on top of a shelf and followed the intruder using his teletransportation device on his belt. The thief looked back and waved his hand at someone. _"It's a guy!"_

Everything that happened after felt slow motion to Red X. He grabbed his communicator to warn Starfire that the male thief was running towards her. He told the rest of the Titans to start climbing up to reach the fifth floor. They had to stop him before he got out with whatever it was that he had taken from the building. Red X saw the thief stopping halfway on the floor, skidding to a stop.

Red X stopped moving.

The thief stopped moving.

Starfire called them all.

"She's here!" she said.

"It's a he!" Beast Boy yelled.

"It is a _girl_…she's right in front me…"

"Starfire, _he_ is right in front of me…" Red X whispered.

"It cannot be…she is aiming at me…I have to go…Ahhhh!"

"Starfire!"

The thief in front of Red X ran towards the fifth floor. Red X could not take it anymore and began running towards him, not caring if he got spotted. "Stop right there! You aren't reaching her!"

The thief ignored Red X's words and ran even faster. He reached the stairs and used a grappling hook to climb faster. Red X used his teletransportation device and was almost successful in catching up with him. The rest of the Titans were on their way. "Hurry up! He's on the top floor! Starfire is alone!"

The male thief stopped at the entrance of the fifth floor and watched Starfire walking in circles in front of the female thief. He chuckled and took a weapon out, throwing it towards Starfire. She was not expecting it and the weapon scratched her arm, and then ending on the cold floor a few feet away from her. She began to bleed. Starfire's eyes glowed and returned the favor by shooting a starbolt at the male thief who easily evaded it by doing a cartwheel to his left side. He began running towards her again. Starfire stood in the middle of both intruders, each of her glowing fists aiming at each one of the thieves.

She looked at the male thief and then at the female thief, waiting for either one to make a move. _"This is easy. I have defeated more formidable opponents. I must not lose control."_ Starfire's eyes glowed a very bright green, as well as her closed fists. She was ready to battle. She had been waiting for it for a long time. Battling gave her a feeling of usefulness. She fought for what was right, making the right thing made her feel alive. However, as ready as her spirit was to battle her current enemies, her body began to fail her. Her breathing became elaborated and her head began to spin. She felt tired and dizzy as if she was getting sick. _"What is happening to me?"_

Her eyes searched for the weapon that had scratch her. _"Maybe it had some kind of poison. Maybe I was injected with…"_

She could not finish her sentence.

She had found the weapon.

It was a birdarang.

She gasped. Red X appeared behind the male thief and kicked him on the back. The male thief flew to the side and skid on the floor, scratching his back and trashing everything that was on his way until he stopped. Red X looked at Starfire and sighed in relief. "Are you alright?"

Starfire nodded and turned her attention to the female thief. Red X kept his eye on the male thief who now slowly stood up on the other side of the room. "Don't move, buddy! I'll break your neck with another kick like the one you just got from me!"

"I want to see you try!"

"My pleasure…"

Red X and the masked thief ran towards each other. Their fight began, not caring about the stare fight between Starfire and the female thief. Starfire began walking towards her, keeping an eye on her movements as much as she could. The female thief stayed hidden behind the dark. The dizziness was killing her but she could not give up now. She approached the enemy as much as she could without putting herself in immediate danger and finally spoke to her. "Who are you? What are you searching for?"

The female thief chuckled and lifted her hands to waist level, closing them to show her fists. "You are still as slow as ever. You haven't been able to figure it out, right _Koriand'r_?"

Starfire gasped. "How do you know my name?"

The thief laughed. "You know who I am, why deny it? You don't want to see it, but I know you know." The female thief said, her eyes starting to glow a purplish color.

Starfire's heart began pumping faster. She felt her knees weaken and her sight become blurry. She knew the thief was right. She had a clue of who could she be, but it was impossible for it to be true. _"She was taken away…a long time ago…she was…vanished, I vanished her from Tamaran!"_

The thief extended her arms in front of her to shoulder level, and to Starfire's demise, her fists began glowing purple as her eyes had. "Did you miss me…little _sister_?"

Blackfire began walking towards the lighted area where Starfire stood. Starfire took a step back and took a defense stance. She did not think she could take on Starfire as she felt at the moment. She knew that birdarang had poisoned her. She knew that was one of Robin's new weapons. _"It was on his journal…I read about it…it came true…"_

Starfire's eyes closed. "What are you doing here, Blackfire?"

"My, my! You sound as if you were not happy to see my face!"

"I am not…"

The Titans arrived to the fifth floor. Red X and the masked thief stopped fighting to stare at the newcomers. The male thief chuckled. "What is this, a reunion? Can't take me on you own?" he teased. "You bastard…"

"Stop, Red X! Don't hurt him!" Starfire yelled.

Red X stopped on his tracks. He looked at Starfire who was now giving the thief the most disappointing look he had ever seen on her. She took a deep breath before lowering her defense stance and turning her body completely towards the male thief.

"Why, Robin?"

The rest of the Titans gapped. Their eyes fell on the masked, black-clothed man standing in front of them. Their eyes then fell on Blackfire who was now walking towards the masked thief. She smirked and laid a hand on his shoulder before removing the mask from his face.

The Titans gasped.

"R-Robin?"

Starfire felt rage consuming her. How did Blackfire dare to do this to Robin? How dared she hurt them all by making them suffer, fearing their leader was dead? _"How did she ever find him?"_

Blackfire held Robin by his waist and placed a quick kiss on his lips. Robin returned the favor and then stared at the astonished Titans. "Who do we kill first?"

Red X joined Starfire and the rest of Titans who were still too shocked by the previous scene to process anything else. Starfire held back her tears and glared at Blackfire, standing a few feet in front of her friends. _"Whatever she does to me I can take. But my friends cannot take a full blast from her." _

"What did you _do_ to him? Why did you take him away?"

Blackfire smirked. "What makes you think I did something to him?" she asked while looking at him and stroking his cheek. Robin closed his eyes and tilted his head towards her hand, welcoming the gesture from her. "Robin, do you know these people?"

Robin opened her eyes and glared at the Titans. "Yes."

"Who are they?"

"My sworn _enemies_," Robin replied.

_"What!"_

Starfire reacted by throwing a starbolt directly at Blackfire. She jumped behind Robin who neutralized Starfire's attack with one of his own gadgets before glaring at Starfire with every piece of hate he had in his heart. He returned the deed and threw a laser disc at her. The impact made her flinch and she ended on the floor, her eardrums sore. The rest of the attack was stopped by Red X who was now in front of Starfire. Even though Starfire took the flashy lights and the deafening sound, he took the actual blast before it reached her. "Red X!" Starfire said while she ran to him, making sure he was alright.

Starfire looked at Robin with a mix of sadness and hurt. She then looked at Red X lay on her lap, blinking several times to adjust his eyes and force them to focus. She looked up and watched a small glimpse of hatred on Robin's eyes when he glared at Red X. He then looked further up and shot a glance at her. "Don't you _dare_ hurt her, Starfire!"

Starfire's heart broke.

The way Robin was holding Blackfire, the way he protected her, and the glare he had given her was too much to take. The rest of the Titans did not know what to think, do or feel. They were relieved that their leader was safe and alive. They were also mad at Blackfire for returning to their lives. They felt clueless as for what had happened in between, and they felt sorry for Starfire, who they knew was suffering the most with the current situation.

"We have what we need, darling. Why don't we leave? I doubt the Titans are in the mood to fight us."

Robin nodded and held Blackfire from her waist. He reached for his belt and before anyone else could react, a cloud of smoke surrounded them. The Titans coughed their way out of there, knowing that Robin and Blackfire were long gone by now. _"We should know; we know his tricks…"_

xXx

The Titans sat on their living room, an uncomfortable silence dawned upon them. Their minds were racing, thinking of the possible reasons why Robin was acting this way. It was like last time when Slade blackmailed him, only that this time he did not seem being manipulated at all. "He was putting up an act for her; he knows who we are. He knows we are his friends!"

The Titans looked at Beast Boy and heard his failed attempts to make sense of the situation. "Shut up, Beast Boy!" Cyborg spat.

Raven looked at Beast Boy's reaction as he pouted and sank on the floor, resting his back on the couch. _"We might not seem like it, but we are taking this as hard as you are taking it Beast Boy, yet not as hard as…."_ She looked at Starfire from the corner of her eye. Her eyes were lost, looking at something but nothing at all. Her head was tilted to the side, her arms crossed in front of her as if trying to protect herself from the truth; a truth that no one wanted to believe.

Red X looked at Starfire and felt his heart hurt. She seemed so lost, depressed, shocked, hurt, and regardless of everything else, he could see that small glimpse of hope in her eyes. He did not know what his relationship was with Robin, but it must have been a very good one fore her to look so hopeless and…_heartbroken_. "So, what do we do know?"

Beast Boy growled and stood up, kicking the couch as he did. Raven's head hung and she quickly put her hood back on. Cyborg stretched his arms and rested his head on the edge of the couch, avoiding the stare Red X was giving him. Red X sighed. They knew what it meant for Robin to be working with Blackfire. Regardless of whether it was part of his plan or not, he was a criminal in the meantime. They knew what they _had_ to do, but they did not _want_ to go through with it. Red X gave up on waiting for a response and stood up from the couch, staring at the defeated Titans and the reactions to their loss. He opened his mouth to speak but Starfire's voice stopped him.

"We take Robin back."

The Titans closed their eyes, knowing what this meant. They knew they were not going to stop until Robin was safely returned to them, and they also knew that Starfire would not let them rest until Robin was back on the Tower with them. The real issue was how to make this happen. They had no idea why robin was working with Blackfire. How did Blackfire get a hold of him? What was Blackfire planning and what had they robbed from the corporation? Furthermore, were they planning on appearing again? Maybe that had been their last robbery before they left the city, the country or even the planet! They were again in a dead-end zone with a broken compass and an even more broken spirit.

"I figured that much out myself, Star. Question is _how_?"

"Robin has not forgotten about us, he must be planning something. That new weapon he used was described in his journal. He knows what is going on and he is playing along with her. He will contact us soon and…"

"He is not! He wasn't faking it! He was not!"

Cyborg's rant was followed by him storming out of the room. Beast Boy shrugged and left the room as well. Starfire glared at the rest of the Titans and yelled at them. "Is this your answer to everything? Believing that Robin has truly turned against us? He did this before; he knows what he is doing! We cannot let him down!"

Raven pushed her hood behind, revealing her disappointed face. She knew that Cyborg was right. She had messed with Robin's feelings while he talked to Blackfire and she knew he was not lying when he called them his enemies; his _sworn_ enemies. The best thing for them to do now was to hold back and wait for their next move. This made no sense at all, but it was even more senseless to provoke an unnecessary fight against the duo_. "If he did not think twice about harming Starfire, we don't stand a chance in hell against him."_

"Are you going to say you do not trust him again, Raven?"

Raven shook her head. "He lied to us because he did not trust us enough to follow his charade last time. He said he had learned to trust us…apparently he didn't. Do you really expect me to go after him without first knowing what is going on? He had been acting strange, remember? He _pushed_ you away, Starfire! We don't know Robin anymore, we haven't seen him in months…he could have become evil for all we know."

Starfire clenched her fists and teeth. She knew that Raven was partially right and it hurt her. "I do not care what you think. I am not going to stand here and let Blackfire manipulate him that easily. If you wish to remain here and do absolutely nothing that is your decision to make. Just remember that _he_ did not give up on _you_ when you went to hell, even if he had no idea what was going on either. None of us did."

Starfire glared at Raven one last time before heading to the door and leaving the room. Red X sighed and sat next to Raven, seeing the hurtful look in her eyes. "So, there are even more things I am unaware about? Why can't I remember all these things you guys mention?"

"You were not here when I was dragged to hell."

"You were dragged to hell? Who brought you back?"

"Robin."

Red X took a deep breath. He understood why Starfire was so upset. Robin had helped Raven in her time of need, and now that the papers were inverted, Raven was taking time to _analyze_ the situation. "Do you know who I am?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you know where I came from, what I did before? I know you have told me as much as you can, but I can seem to recall any of those memories you talk about."

"It was a horrible past. Why would you want these memories back?"

"Think of Robin's actions before. He was able to save you because of the memories he had with you. He had a history of friendship with you. He treasured the memories and knew he was willing to go to hell to get you, didn't he? I feel empty, not knowing where I came from, and where I should go and what I should do. I can't go anywhere or help anyone if I don't know who I am."

Raven kept quiet for a moment and stared at her arms, remembering how her birthmarks had appeared out of nowhere. "Sometimes it's better not to know where you are coming from and what your destiny is. Sometimes it's better to start from scratch."

"True. But I have the option of getting them back, and I can choose to get them back."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember last night, when we were meditating? I saw things…"

"What things?"

"Images, memories perhaps, things that I had never seen before. I saw you, and all of the others. I saw Starfire crying…and I saw Slade."

"Slade? How do you even know…?"

"I saw myself talking to him. I saw his face…his _real_ face…"

Raven nodded. "Do you think that meditation session opened some kind of door inside your mind?"

"Yes. It is said that hypnotism opens up your mind and you are more receptive of things around you. Maybe meditation does the same to you?"

"It is possible."

"Can you help me remember?"

"Is that really what you want?"

"Yes."

"Who are you doing this for?"

"What?"

"Is this to clean your conscious or…"

"For Starfire, yes."

"You sure are close to Starfire even though you don't know her much."

"I can't seem to help it. I feel like I should protect her from everything and anything. The voice of the back of my head tells me to. I don't even need to know the reasons why."

Raven nodded. "Sit here, in front of me."

Red X did as told and sat face-to-face to Raven on the couch. They both crossed their legs, getting into meditation position. Raven placed her opened hands on either side of Red X's head, without touching it. She closed her eyes and took deep relaxing breaths. Red X closed his eyes as well. "Last time you were able to see random images that you could not control. This time I will help you arrange this images, try to make more sense out of them. You must let me in your mind. If things get out of hand, I will stop it and we will never do it again, ok?"

"Ok."

Red X's mind soon lost track of time and everything that surrounded him. He allowed Raven in his mind and she wandered through it. There were blank spaces and some others were crammed with memories from the past. Some she knew what they were while others she did not. All she could really say for sure was that Red X had suffered, he had suffered a lot. _"Maybe even more than all of us put together."_

And with that, the two Titans began their journey through the memories of someone who did not know his past.

xXx

Again he stood before the closed door of the, at the moment, angry alien Titan. He swallowed hard, anxious and fearful of her reaction. There were many things he did not understand and he wanted to understand as much as he could. He knew Starfire had the answers, whether the answers were good or bad, he was willing to listen. _"I am not running away from it anymore."_

He took a deep breath and knocked on the metal door, first lightly and then louder. There was movement inside the room followed by a _"In a minute,"_ from Starfire before she opened the door. She was still in her uniform, her hair was a little bit messy and her eyes were red. _"She probably cried herself to sleep,"_ Red X thought.

"Are you busy?"

"Not at all."

"Can we talk?"

"Sure."

Starfire opened her door and allowed Red X to walk inside. He fidgeted and felt his heart stuck in his throat. He looked around for a place to sit but there was only her bed and a secluded chair on a corner of the room. "Please, sit."

He thought about her command for two seconds and did whatever came to his mind first.

He sat on the floor, right where he had been standing.

Starfire tilted her head. "You may sit on the bed. I believe it is much comfortable, yes?"

Red X did as told.

Starfire sat right next to him, holding her legs with her hands and resting her chin on her knees. She eyed Red X who was as stiff as a plank and seemed ready to break. "What is it that you wish to talk about?"

"What do we do to get Robin back?"

Starfire was taken aback by his bold questioning. She thought no one was in the mood to deal with plotting plans to rescue their confused leader from the grasp of Starfire's evil sister. Yet, there he was, willing to start the rescue mission now. Starfire smiled. "You do know that this is not your battle to fight."

"It doesn't matter. I know this is important to you…so it becomes important to me."

"X, I…"

"Look, Star. I don't know who this guy is…but he seems very important to you. This is reason enough for me to want to help you guys. It's the least I can do for you all."

"I…cannot thank you enough…"

"You don't have to."

Starfire took a few moments to digest what was said. She seriously considered leaving the Tower with Red X again in search for Robin. She had done it before; she could do it again, right? Yet, Raven's words echoed in her mind. She was right. She had learned to trust her friends, and even though at the moment she did not entirely trust them to work out a plan right away, she trusted them nonetheless. However, it might become easier for them to get to action if the plan was already set. _"Perhaps if we come up with a plan they might…"_

"Were you…together with him?"

Starfire blushed at the memory. "T-together?"

Red X cleared his throat.

"Yes. Were you guys _close_?"

"Yes, we were…._extremely _close."

"Oh!"

Another silence took place. Red X extended his legs as he felt they were getting numb. He bent backward and held his weight with his hands on the edge of the bed. Starfire sat Indian-style and kept her eyes looking forward. "Why does this chick know so much about you?"

"She's my sister."

"What the _fuck_?"

Starfire turned her head to face him, seeing the shocked expression on his eyes.

"I had never heard you curse before."

"Sorry but, you can't really blame me, that's the first thing that popped into my head!"

Starfire nodded. She recognized that if someone acknowledged that her own flesh and blood wanted to kill her or seek revenge, a similar reaction was to be expected from them.

Why does she hate you so much?"

"It's a long story; something I thought was in the past."

Red X allowed himself to relax on her bed. It was extremely comfortable. He put his hands behind his neck and lay on her bed, closing his eyes as he spoke.

"Some people can't let go of the grudges of the past. You can't really do anything about them but to hope they will get over it and move on with their lives."

Starfire sighed, knowing that when it came to Blackfire, forgiving was not an option or a possibility.

"What if she will not let go?"

Red X heard the pleading sound in her question. He knew there was no way he could ever understand her pain. All he could do was to be there for her, every step of the way.

"I guess there is only one thing left to do."

"What is that?"

Red X stood up and crossed his legs and arms, taking a serious stance.

"We kick her ass!"

Starfire, who expected a life-changing answer, first furrowed and then began smiling. She chuckled and soon her giggling turned into laughter. Red X smiled at her; it was good to see her smile. Starfire sighed, attempting to control her laughter and Red X cleared his throat. His next question was not as pleasant as the others were. As much as it hurt her, he had to let her know what he thought about this _new_ Robin, who did not seem at all like the one he had been described as before.

"How is it that he's a bad guy now?"

"Who?"

"Robin."

Starfire shrugged, not wanting to answer the question. "I do not think he knows who he is. I do not think he remembers us,"

"Maybe he is _faking_ it."

"He is not."

"_At least she knows."_

"How can you be sure of it?"

"Robin would never hurt me like that."

"Neither will I, ever."

"I know."

Red X stood up and in a swift movement kissed Starfire's head. "You better go to sleep now. We'll start the planning tomorrow, ok?"

Starfire nodded.

Red X stole a final glance at her before making his way the door and closing it behind him.

xXx

Robin lay down on the table. He was fast asleep by now, a fake sleep induced by the chemical Blackfire had stolen from Wayne Enterprises. Since she found him, almost dead, at the burnt warehouse she had been inducing these fake naps to control his memories from coming back. She had not expected him to stay behind and make her job so much easier, but he did and she was glad. _"All to save my little sister's life."_

Blackfire stroke his cheek with the back of her hand. As much as she tried to hide it, she had become attracted to the masked avenger since the first day she saw him. At first she had taken her feelings as sibling rivalry, but the more she thought about him, the deeper the feelings grew.

This was the only reason she had joined Slade. He had promised that Robin would work for him and that if she worked for him as well, she would get the chance to have Robin to herself. In fact, it had been Slade's idea to brainwash Robin as she was brainwashing him now. However, Slade had betrayed her and had set her up to be captured by the Century Police.

"No one backstabs Komand'r. No one"

She had taken her revenge _too_ far with him, but she felt no remorse whatsoever as she had done things she would have never done for any man ever. She had done them to be with Robin. She had done them to get the reward she believed she deserved.

Long after Slade was gone and the Titans tried to regain their normal life, she had planned this revenge and had attempted to carry it out, but every single time she had tried, something unexpected had happened. Part of her plan had worked and went unnoticed by the Titans, but the most important part had been delayed for one reason or the other. It was not until Starfire decided to leave that she was able to mess with Robin's mind. "He was such an _easy_ prey, mopping around for that bitch that left him."

Blackfire smirked at the memory. Had it not been for Starfire's return, all of the Titans had died there, and she would have no one to stop her from taking Robin away. She had ruined her plans again. She always did. Blackfire cupped Robin's face with her hands and kissed his sleeping face. Robin smiled.

"Starfire…"

Blackfire growled.

"No matter how much dose I use, he always remembers her by the end of the day!"

Blackfire grabbed another shot of the drug and held Robin's arm. "Believe me sweetie; this hurts _me_ more than it actually hurts _you_."

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

**A/N: Who expected Blackfire to be behind this, eh? If you want to know HOW she did it and WHEN, stay tuned for the next –and second to the last, chapter. Thanks for reading, and those who leave a review…YOU ROCK!**

**FINAL THOUGHT:**

**Starfire: **z-snap"Oh no you didn't, bitch! How dare you steal my man?"


	21. In Love and War

**A/N: **Warning! There is a reason why this fiction is rather M. This chapter is one of the reasons. Read at your own risk. This chapter might be too strong for children under 18 years of age. If you decide not to read it entirely, skip the completely italicized part at the bottom of the chapter, and then read the A/N at the end of chapter. Thank you for reading and waiting so long for this. Next chapter is the last chapter.

Happy New Year!

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

**Chapter 19 **

_In Love and War_

Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and Red X formed a circle facing out, making sure all cardinal points were watched. Starfire twirled in the air in slow motion in the middle of the circle, keeping an eye on anything that could make their way toward them from above or _beyond the grave_. The night had fallen upon them and the crescent moon was the only source of light on them. The forest surrounding them was eerie quiet. The shadows made by the trees around them created distorted figures that seemed like faces: faces with eyes; eyes that stared directly at them. The wind was still, and not even the goddamned crickets were out there to keep the Titans some company.

"I hear something," BB said while his pointy ears twitched. "It's getting close, _fast_."

Raven's eyes glowed black. Starfire's eyes and fists glowed green. Cyborg prepared his sonic cannon, waiting for whatever was on their way. Red X took a defensive stance. Beast Boy's eyes thoroughly scanned the area as a predator looking for his pray.

"It's almost here…"

The bushes around them began shaking. The wind picked up, bringing dark clouds from which torrential rain poured down. The Titans were soaked wet in just seconds, but they stayed alert for the person that was hunting them from the shadows. A wrath of thunder and lightning crashed upon the ground, Starfire covered her ears and Beast Boy whimpered. "I don't like this, Cyborg!"

"Don't let your guard down, grass stain!"

The next batch of lightning brought with them the screaming of a masked man. He jumped toward Starfire and she easily dodged him, quickly turning around and lashing him with her laser eyes. The masked man turned around and grabbed her foot, taking her down with him, and smashing her on the wet ground. Starfire coughed mud and then felt being pulled back. She turned her head and saw Slade trying to grab her other foot. Thankfully for her, Cyborg shot his back. "Not while I am alive, dog!"

Slade acted quickly and pulled Starfire sending her flying toward Cyborg. Red X intercepted her and caught her in his arms before she became even more injured. "Are you ok?" he asked while flying through the air.

"Yes, just…lightheaded."

Red X jumped out of the quarrel path between Slade and Cyborg and stopped a few feet away from them, allowing Starfire to catch her breath. "You know he can't _really_ harm you, right?"

Starfire nodded.

She knew Slade was dead, but the memories of her visions came back to her. She remembered all those sleepless nights, the haunting visions, the warnings she received from him. He promised to kill her. He almost did that night she was left alone at the Tower. He also promised to kill Robin; this she feared the most. She could deal with her losing her life; but losing Robin was something she could not bear.

Raven's chant brought her back to reality. She saw Raven engulf Slade in her powers and slammed him onto a tree. Beast Boy turned into a tyrannosaurs and hit the already fallen Slade with his tail. Slade flew right past him and landed, face first, on the ground. Lighting struck again.

"Starfire, are you alright?" Raven asked her from the distance. Starfire nodded again and placed her hand on Red X's shoulder to push up herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself, clearing her mind of the feelings of uncertainty and fear that threatened to invade her. Cyborg noticed Starfire anxiety and felt bad for her. It did not matter how many times they had gone through this, she always became tense and they ended up not finishing what they had planned to do.

"Star, we can stop if you want…I don't think…"

"No!"

Starfire blinked and headed to the place where Slade had been sent to.

He was no longer there.

_"No!"_

Starfire's breathing became laborious, and energy began to gather around her. Her adrenaline was at its highest point, pushing her to the limit of her self-control. _"It will be over soon! It will be over soon!"_

Raven felt Starfire's aura become hazy. The negative energy she was releasing was something she had never seen on the Tamarean. Starfire's heart was racing and the energy released was making a hole on the ground. Starfire slowly twirled in the air until she faced the spot where Red X was still standing on. Her green eyes glowed as intense as ever. Her entire body was surrounded by the green light of her energy reaching a critical point.

The Titans stared at her. Her scared face had been replaced by an uncharacteristic smile. A smile that they had seen only on the faces of those they had sent to jail. _"I see him." _Starfire thought. _"He is mine."_

"She's about to explode!" Raven screamed, "Stop, it Cyborg! Stop this now!" Raven's attempts to warn the Titans were futile. The party of thunder and lightning muffled her pleas.

"What?"

Starfire's energy made the hole on the ground even deeper. A road of green energy coming from her traveled on the ground in a straight line motion heading Red X's way. Red X stood there, still in shock at Starfire's merciless expression. _"Is she aiming at me? Is she going to kill me?"_

Red X took a step back and prepared to leap out of target when Starfire's warning stopped him cold.

"Do _not_ move."

Red X held his breath; his eyes staring directly at her green ones. He was afraid. He was very afraid.

The green road of energy was just a couple of feet away from Red X. The heat that emanated from the green light was enough to raise his temperature to an uncomfortable level. If it was not for his uniform, he was sure his toes would be burning by now. "So much energy…so much…_hatred_."

Hatred was a word that Starfire did not like to use, let alone express in actions. The determination in her eyes, the precision in her movements, and the fearless stance she posed were enough reasons to feel the fear crawling under his skin.

The ray of energy suddenly split in two and avoided Red X by going around him at the very last second. Red X followed the movement of the energy and was glad to see it spare his life. He turned his head back and followed the green light until it became lost behind the bushy trees. As soon as the light had reached the darkness of the trees, a deafening scream was heard from the ray's final location. The shatter was followed by a loud thump of the lifeless body of Slade.

Silence dawned upon them. The skies cleared and the rain disappeared. The darkness was replaced by bright lights. The forest image blinked until it disappeared. Slade's body dissolved into thin air.

Metal walls surrounded the Titans.

The simulation was over.

The Titans had won…for the first time since last week.

The Titans looked over their shoulders at Starfire. She was still radiating green energy but it slowly diminished until there was none left. The evil smile that had plastered on her face seconds ago was gone. Her usual innocent face was back. She blinked rapidly, furrowing. "Is it over?"

The newly created simulation training room was back to normal. The doors opened and the lights turned on. A computerized female voice on the intercom announced the end of the training. The Titans, _Starfire_, had defeated the enemy.

Red X walked to Starfire and stood next to her, placing his hand on her back. "Wow, Star! I had never seen you use your starbolts like that!" Starfire faced him, tilting her head to denote her confusion. "I do not understand what you are saying."

xXx

"I guess I need a new name, no?"

"I thought you liked your name."

"I do…but I think I have a better one in mind."

"Oh? What that might be?"

"Red Shadow"

"Ohhhh…"

The Titans paid a visit to the pizza parlor after their training had ended. Walking on the streets of their city was something they had wanted to do for the longest time. The citizens of Jump City were happy to have their heroes back in action, and they expressed their gratitude by waving at the Titans and pointing at them with a smile. The Tower was back to normal. Cyborg had fixed their gadgets and vehicles, and everything that happened in the past seemed like a bad dream which had ended eons ago. They now knew that their leader was still alive and kicking, and all they had to do was take him back, one way or the other.

Cyborg had built the new simulation training room to accelerate the process of getting back in shape. They had been trying to complete all the levels of training, defeating one villain after the other; though it was eerie to battle against villains they knew were dead. The young heroes had been slowly getting back on track and having fun while training until last week when they had reached the last level of training: defeating Slade.

Everything had gone according to plan until Starfire started hyperventilating. Every time they had tried to challenge the virtual Slade, Starfire would cover her ears, close her eyes, and hide in the shadows. Even though Robin had taken her to receive therapy, Starfire was obviously still haunted by the awful memories of Slade, and the life-changing experiences she suffered in the past. They all knew that three years of suffering would not go away in a few months of therapy, but they had been hoping she would be able to control her fears now.

After the third failed try to finish the simulation, Cyborg had strongly suggested to desist the training. Starfire had sworn she would work harder to control her emotions and she had. Yet, the fear she felt was overwhelming and she had failed in every single attempt to succeed; until today, that is. She had worked closely with Raven to control her emotions, and during the nights she had trained with Red X to improve her battling skills. One thing that she had learned from all of this was that in every single simulation, Slade would appear out of nowhere, from the shadows, and this was what worried her the most. Not knowing when or where he would appear did not help her stay calmed and in control. The not knowing killed her wits.

After the third day trying, Red X had suggested for them to train during the night. "I can use the stealth feature on my belt and appear and disappear on different places. All you have to do is pretend I am Slade!"

Starfire had certainly not been thrilled about the idea at first, but she knew deep inside that if she was to recover Robin, she would have to overcome her fears. As much as all of them wanted to believe that Slade was truly gone, history had taught them not to be sure of anything at all; not even of death itself. _"We have to be ready for anything and everything. We are getting Robin back, no matter the cost."_

The Titans had left the training room in silence. Nobody questioned Starfire about her actions, as it seemed she did not remember what she had done. Raven believed her past issues were returning to her, and that paying a visit to Dr. J would be a good idea. She mentioned it to Cyborg, and he agreed. Yet, after everything that had been said and done, they decided to ask Red X to suggest the visit to the doctor to Starfire. _"He can make it sound as a suggestion, not an order like we would,"_ Raven had said.

"Why Red X?" the conversation continued.

"Starfire told me that was the name of the file Robin used to store my personal data. I kinda like the name. Besides, I can appear and disappear into the night! –_and I am only a shadow of who I was before…_"

"It's fine by me, Red Shadow it is!"

"Don't forget to tell your fan club about your name change."

"Wow! Raven made a joke?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, come on…can't you make a joke and take one too?"

"Try me."

"Shut up! Both of you! Let me eat my pizza in peace!"

"Why I oughta…"

Beast Boy's rant was stopped by the communicator beeping.

"We have another intrusion."

"Is it Blackfire?"

Cyborg read the report while the Titans hoped it was Robin again.

Cyborg nodded. "Yes, it's close by. They are at the radio tower."

"The one you tried to eat when you went bonkers on us?"

"That's the one."

"Why are they doing there?"

"Nothing we want to let them finish doing. Let's go!"

Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl and used its claws to grab Cyborg and dropped him next to the T-Car. Starfire lifted Red X and dropped him next to his motorcycle. Raven and Starfire flew towards the radio tower while Beast Boy jumped into the T-Car. Red X was the second one to leave the pizza parlor, followed closely by the T-Car.

"Why are you on my car, grass stain?"

"I don't want to get tired by just flying there!"

"You need more training."

"No, I need a new moped."

Raven eyed Starfire from the corner of her eye. She knew what Starfire was thinking, _wishing_, to happen. She knew Starfire wanted to get Robin back this time around. They all knew it was not going to be easy. Blackfire had had an eye on Robin, and had a huge grudge against Starfire. She was not allowing herself to go down easily.

"Starfire?"

"Mmh?"

"Focus on the plan, ok?"

"I will not let you down –_I will not let Robin down_."

The Titans picked up speed and were soon arriving to the radio tower. "Keep your guard up, and stick with the plan!"

The Titans were expecting to see and hear commotion and chaos; truth was that there was none. "I don't like this at all…where's the fire?"

The only sounds they could hear where the light taps of their footsteps. The electricity was gone, and the entire building had been evacuated because of it. Starfire walked in front of the rest to illuminate their path. Beast Boy morphed into a hound and smelled the way next to the Tamarean. Raven followed the green-eyed girl while Red X used his night-vision feature to watch her pace. Cyborg looked at the team walk in front of him while stealing quick glances at the road already traveled.

The long hallway reached its end at a metal door. According to Cyborg's calculations, the central room was behind that door. Whatever it was that Robin and Blackfire had wanted to gain from this robbery would have to be located inside this room. The rest of the rooms contained small offices and working tools. Why would a super strong alien need pencils, paper, erasers or a mop?

Raven's guess was that Blackfire was searching for power…literally. A source of electrical energy that would allow some technology to run properly. The Titans were clueless as to the location of the villains' lair, but they believed it was not close to any source of electrical power big enough to make any type of massive machinery work.

As soon as all of them reached the door, they quickly turned off their sources of light and waited for a cue to break in. During that small moment of silence, the Titans were able to hear a faint but still recognizable voice coming from inside the locked room.

"_This is only a third of what we need, sweetie. I guess this will have to do for now."_

Silence.

"Is that Blackfire?" Beast Boy asked in a hushed voice.

"Duh?" Raven replied.

"_Where is Robin?"_ Starfire thought.

Silence.

"_You have been awfully quiet, honey. Is everything ok?"_

"_I am not feeling well, that is all."_

"_Have one of those headaches again?"_

"_Yes. I am getting tired of them."_

"_Headaches?"_ Starfire thought.

Blackfire walked towards Robin who was holding his head with both hands. His eyes were closed as if trying to hold in the pain. She knew why he had these headaches, but she would never tell him the real reason why he suffered them. While these headaches meant a pain to him, for her they meant he needed to pay another visit to the special machine she had stolen from Slade. She held his face with her hands and gave him a long kiss. "I know a way to make your headache go away. Just let me finish what we came to get and we will go straight back home."

Robin nodded and rested his back against the door. He was tired. They had been searching the city for a power source bigger than the one stationed in this place but other than Titans Tower, they had not been able to locate any other greater source.

Blackfire returned to the main power source. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a small device similar to a cigarette lighter. She pressed and slid a small button to turn it on before sticking it into the device which connected the inside of the building to the power plant outside.

"This will only take a minute. Once these earthlings repair this place, we will be back a couple of more times until we recharge the ship's power source to its maximum capacity. Once we leave Earth and visit other planets, we won't struggle this much to gather energy for our ship."

Outside the door, Starfire frowned. She knew what Blackfire was talking about and she did not like it at all. She was thinking of leaving Earth and taking Robin with her. If they did not stop her before she was successful, they would never see Robin ever again.

"Star, you ok?" Red X asked.

"No, we must stop Blackfire now. She is planning on taking Robin away from us."

"I think she already did that."

"No! Away from Earth!"

"What?!" Beast Boy yelped and gasped.

The intruders became quiet and the Titans held their breath. In the blink of an eye a loud grunt was heard, and the door they had been leaning on was blown into pieces by one of Blackfire's bolts. Cyborg and Raven were sent to the sides. Red X grabbed Starfire and used his stealth figure to escape from danger. Beast Boy turned into a small fly and was able to escape before the pieces of the door squashed him on the wall.

"Who invited you here, sister?"

Blackfire stood at the hole she had just made on the spot the door once was. Her face seemed relaxed, but her fists beamed that purple energy she was known for. "I am in a hurry today and can't play fetch with any of you. Get out of my way!"

"Where is Robin?"

Blackfire smirked at Starfire's obvious anger and jealousy.

"Lover boy is getting something for me. You do not need to speak to him. If he sees you here, he will surely attack you again, and this time I will not stop him."

"Robin would never hurt me!"

"He already did once, remember?"

"Shut up!  
"I've had enough of you."

Blackfire flew towards Starfire, aiming to hit her on the face. Red X quickly responded and jumped to kick Blackfire from the side.

"You fucking bitch!"

Blackfire smiled and grabbed his foot, sending him flying back towards Raven who was about to attack from behind. Raven felt the air being sucked out of her by Red X's hit. He quickly grabbed Raven by her shoulders and switched places with her, making him receive the greater hit from the concrete wall. Both Titans growled in pain and fell to the floor, face first.

Cyborg ran and aimed his sonic cannon at the purple-eyed Tamarean, managing to hit her on her back. "Boo-yah!"

Blackfire growled and turned around to face her attacker. "Learn a new trick, Cyborg!"

She yelled as she sent Cyborg flying through the wall behind him with her laser eyes. Starfire took this opportunity and clasped her hands together, creating a ball of energy that covered both of her fists. She slowly opened her hands and allowed the green bolt to increase in size and power. She concentrated and gathered her energy as fast as she could before Blackfire could make a move. _"She must **not** get away this time!"_

Blackfire saw Beast Boy attempting to make a move, but she did not allow him to move any further. She opened her arms, creating a bolt on each hand. "You know what? I never really thought you were funny." Blackfire smiled and clasped her fists together, releasing the energy created by the collapsing of both bolts. A purple ray traveled from one side of the hall to the other and fried Beast Boy, making him fall on the cold floor.

"Robin never really thought you were pretty either!"

"What?"

Starfire surrounded herself by the green energy she had gathered, and aimed it at Blackfire. Blackfire froze, crossing his arms in front of her face to provide some protection. The huge green bolt enclosed Blackfire in a ball of energy that hit her from all points, making her scream her lungs out. Starfire watched as her older sister was hit by her attack until the energy finally disappeared and she hit the floor.

Starfire walked to Blackfire, standing a few feet away from the beaten up body of her sister. Blackfire mumbled something unintelligible and moaned in pain at the same time. For a small second Starfire felt regret of what she had done, but at this point in her life she knew she could not afford to pity the woman who had caused her so much pain. Blackfire folded her arms, attempting to push herself up from the ground. Starfire reacted and sent her back to the floor by stepping on her back, pushing her further onto the floor. "Now tell me where Robin is!"

Blackfire laughed.

"Why don't you give up on him? He is mine now, and nothing you can do will make him love you again."

"I know what you wish to do! What did you do to him? Robin would never leave Earth with you! Ever!"  
"I didn't do anything to him. He wants to be with me, wherever I am to be."

"Liar!"

Starfire bent down and grabbed her sister by her throat. Blackfire began coughing blood and seemed like she was about to lose a battle, yet the smile on her face would not fade. "What will you do little sister? _Kill_ me and make Robin hate you even more? Or beat me up and make Robin hate you even _more_, more?"

It was Starfire turn to growl. She knew she would never kill anyone ever again, or even attempt to. "Sister, why do you hate me such?"

"Don't play innocent with me. You are very aware of all the pain you made me go through. I left Tamaran to run away from your plans of ruining me, and yet you have made my life miserable, no matter where I am!"

Starfire felt a lump forming in her throat. She knew that, not considering the time where the Centaury Police caught Blackfire, and this exact moment where her grip was tight around her sister's throat, she had never deliberately tried to hurt her sister. It was not in her nature to hurt people, or cause them any kind of pain. Although, she also knew that Blackfire was one to take things very personal, and that hatred was a feeling she could easily develop against anything, or anyone, even her own flesh and blood.

"Blackfire, I never tried to…"

An explosion took place behind Starfire. She closed her eyes and wished her hands were free to cover her ears, as it had been a very loud explosion in a very close range. She turned her face back and held her breath while the smoke cleared. She knew there was only one more person in this room who wanted to hurt them, hurt _her_. She recognized the type of explosive. She knew who had created it.

"_Robin…"_

Starfire felt a kick on her back. The hit forced her back to arch and release her grip on Blackfire. Blackfire fell to the floor, taking deep breaths allowing the oxygen to return to her brain. If Robin had not appeared when he did, Starfire would have caused her a great deal of damage and pain. _"I will be so happy when I finally get rid of you, sister."_

Raven surrounded Robin with her aura to pull him away from Starfire as he was aiming another kick to her. Blackfire slowly stood up and did not take much time before she threw a starbolt to Raven. Raven closed her eyes in pain, but she did not let her magic release Robin. Cyborg ran behind Blackfire and held her with his tightest grip. Unfortunately for Cyborg, his maximum force was not enough. Blackfire grabbed Cyborg's arms and crushed them to thin layers of metal before kicking him on his knee and bending his leg. "I _just_ fixed that!"

Cyborg fell backwards to the floor, partially out of battle. Blackfire kept a close eye on Robin, her main concern being trying to set him free from Raven's aura. "Let him go or I will make sure you don't have any hands to grab anything else in your life!"

Raven smirked and increased her grip on Robin. Starfire flinched at Robin's cry of pain, but she knew this had to happen in order for their plan to work. Starfire stood up and used her laser eyes to hit Blackfire's chest, sending her flying backwards above Cyborg. Robin attempted to break himself free but Raven was not giving up so easily. Blackfire's anger was rapidly increasing; she was losing a fight against them…against _her_!

"I gave you a chance, sister. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Blackfire's eyes and fists glowed bright purple until the glow became red. She stood up and grabbed Cyborg by his head; lifting him up with her while she flew above the ground. She created a big bolt of red energy and aimed it to Cyborg's head. Both Raven and Starfire gasped at the realization of Blackfire's intentions.

"If you don't let go of Robin, your friend loses his head."

Raven's eyes opened wide, matching Starfire's eyes which stared back at her. The two Titan girls switched glances between Robin and Cyborg, and then to Blackfire and back to each other. There was nothing they could do. They had to let Robin go for now, again.

Raven closed her eyes in defeat and allowed for Robin to jump put of her grip. Starfire's eyes filled with tears, knowing how close they had been to take Robin back, and how low her sister had gone to keep him by her side. She wanted Robin back with them, but she also knew that Robin would have never forgiven himself if his rescue cost one of the Titan's lives. Blackfire grinned and moved her hand away from Cyborg's head to his stomach, taking only one second to release the energy on him.  
"Cyborg!" Starfire screamed.

Cyborg's scream echoed in the metal room as his body was sent towards Raven. Raven stood up, opening her arms while screaming her lungs out with her chant. A dark aura surrounded the half-man, half-machine, slowing down the speed at which he had been thrown away from the dark-haired Tamarean. Raven concentrated on holding Cyborg with her energy until she slowed him down with her powers enough to embrace him, allowing him to smoothly reach the floor. She placed him on the opposite side where Red X still lay unconscious. Raven felt the plan was going downhill soon.

"Cyborg, are you alright?"

Cyborg did not respond.

Starfire growled in anger. Her body was filled with rage as she saw her friends going down one by one. "You must have a great grudge against me, _Komand'r_, and that is fine. I only ask, _beg_ of you, to not take it out on my friends."

Blackfire slowly walked to where Robin stood, making sure he was alright. Starfire followed her with her eyes, waiting for her to fly away as she had done before. "Do not worry, Starfire. _I_ won't do anything to you or your friends."

Starfire felt relieved for a few seconds before she realized what was truly happening. Robin's left hand reached his right pocket and grabbed a laser disc. He threw it towards Starfire, or so she thought. The laser disc was actually aimed to the fallen Cyborg and Raven. Raven held Cyborg in her arms, making a force field with her energy in the last second. Starfire's eyes witnessed Raven's quick reflexes and sighed in relief. The explosion diminished and the force field disappeared. Starfire took a step towards the fallen Titans before asking if they were alright. "Starfire, watch out!"

Starfire turned her head just in time to see Robin's mask in front her own eyes, and Robin's fist on her stomach. Starfire had never seen Robin so mad at her. Even though the hit had not hurt that much, the idea of seeing who had hit her made her bent down and hold her stomach. "That's for hurting Blackfire."

Starfire began coughing and crying, her closed fists shaking in fear. _"This is not happening…not happening…"_ She extended her arm to grab Robin's shin but he kicked her arm before brutally stepping on it. Starfire's cries and sobs became even more noticeable. "Robin, _please_…it hurts…"

"Tell someone who cares."

Starfire bit her lip to stop her from crying her eyes out. The tone of his voice, his actions, his face, his attitude was killing her inside. "What did she _do_ to you, Robin?"  
"Shut up, I _don't_ want to hear you!"

Robin released his crushing step on her hand. He then bent down to her level, staring directly into her green and red puffy eyes.

Starfire did not move.

She returned the glance as intense as he was giving it to her. Her eyes desperately searched for a hint of the real Robin; the Robin that would never lay a hand on her to hurt her. The Robin who would rather chop of his own arm before causing any kind of pain to the one he loved.

"_The one he loved…"_

Robin and Starfire stared at each other for only a few seconds, but for Blackfire and the rest of the Titans it seemed like days. She definitely did not want Robin so close to Starfire if he was not going to be hurting her either physically or verbally. In Blackfire's eyes, there was no other reason why Robin and Starfire should ever be together if it was not to fight.

Starfire could not help herself from placing a shaking hand on Robin's cheeks and, to her surprise, Robin did not move. Even though his eyes were still full of rage and the thirst for revenge, he did not flinch at the feel of her warm touch on his face. Starfire's eyes went from his eyes to his lips and back up. She missed the taste of those lips. She missed the short, almost non-existent, but memorable good moments they had spent together. _He_ promised they would _always_ be together; _she_ promised to be with _him_ forever.

"What has she done to you…?"

Robin blinked. Whatever reason that had kept him from tearing his enemy to pieces was gone now. It was as if a dark room had been suddenly filled by light, bringing shape and form to everything around him. His ears felt as if they were actually _listening_ for the first time. He felt as if he was taking his first deep breath after a drowning feeling that lasted too long for his taste. His back felt a shiver run down by it, and he tried his best not to shake it off or close his eyes to the uncomfortable feeling. His senses were suddenly so aware of his surroundings. He heard everything. He smelled everything. He felt everything. He tasted everything. He _saw_ everything. He saw _her_, right in front of him. There she was, an even though it was the first time he saw her in his life, he felt as if she had been there standing in front of him all his life. How could he have missed her? How could he have missed to notice those beautiful green eyes that were now staring back to him with the same fierce intensity as a person who has found a long lost love?

He whispered a question only Starfire could hear given the short distance between their faces.

"Who _are_ you…?"

Starfire took a deep breath. "I am…"

"Robin! What are you waiting for? Finish her now!"

Robin blinked again. He slowly turned his head back, facing Blackfire and giving her a wide smile. "The one I love…"

Starfire felt her heart break to a million pieces. _"She is not the one you love…I am the one you love!"_ she thought. Robin faced her again, this time with even more anger in his eyes. He grabbed Starfire by her neck and slowly lifted her above the ground. Starfire's hands automatically went to his hands as a reflex. She had neither the will nor the strength to fight him back. Her mind became clouded with scenes of the time Slade tried to kill her in the Tower. It was happening again, she was going to die. She was going to face death in the hands of him…_Robin_.  
"The one…I love…"

Silence.

Robin felt Starfire's dieing words sting him like acid on a cut. He felt his knees grow weak, followed by his entire body losing all strength. All of a sudden, his own weight was too much to bear to even afford to carry Starfire's weight as well. He slowly fell to his knees, sliding down his arms from Starfire's neck to her waist, making sure she did not hit the hard floor.

All eyes were on them. Robin felt a great deal of pain in his chest that did not stop expanding and contracting. It did not matter how much air he took in, his lungs were not getting enough air; his body was not getting enough air. His head pounded, and the pounding echoed in his mind. He began shaking uncontrollably. He felt that shiver run down his spine again, and the headache that followed made him close his eyes tightly for a few seconds to avoid the light that filtered through his mask. What had he done? What was he about to do? His mouth opened to utter the one word that came to his lips.

"Starfire…"

Starfire tried to speak, but her brain was too busy trying to tell her heart to pump blood to her body as fast as it could. Her hands went to her neck, coughing a couple of times in between sobs and small cries. Above all the pain, and the feeling of being brought back to life before a few seconds before dieing, she felt relieved. She had heard her name. She had heard him call out her name in that tone full of concern that she loved so very much.

"Starfire…" he said again.

His hands were shaking, trails of her blood still on his arms and clothes. He could not contain the tremble of his own body. The realization of his beloved one finding death in his hands was too much to bear. He felt like that small child who has killed an animal for the first time and knows the feeling of guilt. He had almost killed her. He had almost ended the life of his one and only love.

"I'm sorry…"

This was all Blackfire could allow between them. _"He remembers again. He remembers everything!"_

Blackfire acted too quickly for the Titans to react. She created a bolt as big as the one she had tried to use on Raven and Cyborg on each hand. She flew up and sent the left bolt to the fallen Titans. Robin and Starfire turned when they saw the explosion. Blackfire curled up her leg and then released it on Robin's face, full force, then released her right bolt on Starfire's face. Starfire screamed and fell backwards covering her face with her hands. Robin fell unconscious on Blackfire's arms. She then used her laser eyes to create another explosion very close to Starfire to blind her and the rest of the Titans so she could escape with Robin again.

"_You got lucky sister; there won't be a next time."_

Blackfire and Robin were out of sight before they knew it. It was over. They had done what they had gone there to do.

None of the fallen Titans followed. They stared at the cracked roof of the metal room from their positions on the floor. Their uniforms were damp with blood and their bodies sore like never before. Their heads were still spinning with the continuous explosions and lightning, and all they could do for now was just lay there and take it all in.

The place was a disaster. The roof and the walls were either cracked, blown to pieces, burnt, or splattered with blood. In the other room, the power source of the radio tower was destroyed and completely drained of all energy. The connecting door was nonexistent, and only a bent frame still stood. Cyborg's body looked like scrap and Raven could not do anything to heal the metal part of him, but she took care of the human part as fast as she could. She helped him sit and rest his back against the wall. Once she made sure Cyborg was alright, she turned around and repeated the healing process on Red X. He looked really battered and hurt. As much training as they had received, he still had some more training to do. Battling against Blackfire was not as easy as it seemed, but he had held his ground and had done what was in his power to protect them all. She knew the reason he was out cold was because he had switched places with her and he had received the full blow of the impact. He was probably lacking fighting skills, but he was not lacking fast reflexes when it came to risk his life for his friends. _"If he hadn't done that, I would have been seriously injured. We are the only people he knows, and he wouldn't let anything hurt us…even me…"_

Red X began moving and complaining about his injuries. "That damned, bipolar bitch…when I see her again…"

Raven smirked. "Seems you are good enough to curse, X."

"I am. Red Shadow is not working too good, it seems."

"I am afraid not. You look more like a Red X, than a Red Shadow to me."

"I guess so. Besides, X-cycle sounds much better than Shadow-cycle."

"That too. Are you feeling better now?"

Red Shadow nodded. "Go take care of Star, she looks hurt."

Raven placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it as a sign of her thankfulness for what he did to her. He nodded his head as a reply, and saw as Raven stood up and walked to Starfire who had not moved since Robin and her sister had left. He then turned to face Cyborg who looked lost in his own thoughts. "Everything ok, Cy?"

Cyborg nodded. "You?"

"Never been better, except when I am not hurt," Red X joked. Cyborg offered him a small smile and waited for Raven to take care of Starfire.

Raven bent down next to her and without saying a word, she opened up her hands and placed them above Starfire's body. Starfire closed her eyes at the warm feeling of Raven's aura. She felt her soreness being washed away. Raven's eyes closed to concentrate on the healing process of Starfire's body, and her soul. Raven's empathy was very useful in times like these. Starfire's aura was filled with mixed feelings of uncertainty, loss, hate, sadness and depression. Even though Raven was not one to show her feelings so openly to rest of the world, she felt sad for her friend. She had taken every hit she had been sent, and she was still here, fighting for what she believed was right; for what she believed she deserved.

"I think we made it, Starfire."

"I think so too."

Starfire turned her face to see Cyborg taking deep breaths. He was feeling much better now that the battle had ended, but he knew he had some repairing time coming up. _"I just fixed this…"_

Starfire smiled at the sight of him. This had been his plan, and even though they all knew the implications of carrying it on, they felt they had succeeded. Cyborg realized Starfire was smiling at him, and he returned the gesture.

"Thank you, Cyborg."

"Don't thank me yet, Star. We are not sure if it worked."

Starfire then looked at Red X. Even though his mask was on, she could tell he was looking at her intently. She offered him a big, bright smile and he tapped his heart with his hand twice in return. Starfire looked around the room and assessed the damage. The place looked like a real battle had taken place there. They felt like if they had fought a real battle as well; they had the scars to prove it. Starfire felt Raven's healing powers come to an end, and she felt enough strength to stand on her own. She stood up and offered her hand to Raven to help her stand up. Raven accepted it gratefully.

Starfire patted her clothes to lose some of the dirt that had accumulated on them, while Raven did the same to her cloak. Starfire gave a long heartfelt look to the sky where Robin and Blackfire had disappeared on and sighed deeply. "Will you believe me if I say this feels like a victory to me?"

Raven nodded.

"You girls are too positive it makes me want to stay looking like scrap forever."

Starfire giggled.

"And I am the one who is supposed to be the negative one, Cyborg." Raven said.

"Let's get going, we need to get ready as soon as possible." Red X said.

Both Titan girls nodded. Starfire held Cyborg with both of her arms, making sure he was as comfortable as possible. She slowly began flying and left the place followed by Raven and Red X. The Titans left the place and began their journey back to the Tower to assess how well their plan was going, and where will it take them next.

xXx

"I wish we had gathered the energy when they were still down and crying about how miserable their lives were. Why did I have to wait until they were better?!"

Blackfire ranted while she flew towards her home. She reduced her speed after she realized the Titans were too hurt to come after them. Robin was still unconscious in her arms, and she was not going to allow him waking up in his state. She had to make sure he got a double dose of the amnesia shoot she had stolen from Slade before he opened his eyes again. This was getting more and more difficult to her, and she knew she had to come up with something better for the next time.

"This is the same reason why Slade lost control of Red X. This stupid Earth potion loses its effect after time. Why did I have to go and trust things created by that dick? He couldn't do anything without me!"

Blackfire looked at Robin. He was bleeding from his forehead and nose because of the kick she had given him to stop him from having more memories of the past. She had definitely not gone through so much trouble to have him run back to her sister's arms just like that, and in front of her!

"I should have learned something from that old fart when he prepared for Red X's betrayal. All those painful nights he prepared for Starfire and Robin, to make them hate each other…he almost succeeded. I certainly did."

_Slade sat on his metal chair, his hands on Blackfire's butt. She was sitting on his lap, her legs around his waist._

"_Why do I have to get caught by the Centaury Police?"_

_Slade chuckled and moved his hand to her breast, giving it a small massage. "Because your sister needs to feel sorry for Red X. How else is Robin supposed to get jealous of him?"_

_"Give me a break! She won't even know who saved her until way after it happened. What good is to prepare this whole setup if she won't even know he saved her?"_

_"You are too young to understand. Red X will fall for her, I know so. As much as those idiots from the HAEYP tried to erase the feelings Robin has for Starfire, they were only able to suppress them for a while. He will end up betraying me sooner or later, but by then I will have what I wanted all this time."_

_"Why are you so obsessed with Robin? He is just a kid with hyped-up weapons playing hero."_

_"Why are you so obsessed with him? He is just a kid with no experience…I have experience…on every field."_

_Blackfire rolled her eyes. If she was not being followed by half of the police systems of the universe, and if her sister had not vanished her from her own home, she would have not resorted to joining Slade's group to get her revenge. She had walked inside his lair with plans of asking for a partnership with him, but what she had to do to was much more than she had thought she would._

_"It seems to me you spend too much time with me on the bedroom rather than preparing better for your plans against my sister and her friends. Perhaps that is the reason that clone you made is completely useless to our plans? I thought you were a real villain, and it turned out you are just another old man with hyped-up weapons, playing evil. "_

_Slade stopped caressing her breast and butt. He pushed her down to the floor and followed her, falling abruptly on her. He slapped her face several times, from both sides. Blackfire screamed for him to stop and that same fear that had invaded her when he had done this to her before made appearance. She could not understand why her, a highly superior being, much stronger than this human on top of her, could not return a hit to him. She never could, and this time was not different from all the others before._

_Slade stopped slapping her. He held both of her wrists on top her head while he used his free hand to grab her face and dig his metal fingers on her cheeks. "Do I have to remind you of the reasons why I allow you to remain alive? You need me and you know it! You are just a pathetic little girl trying to get revenge on her sister because of pussy reasons. The only reason you can't do it on your own is because she is much stronger, and better than you. You will never overcome her on your own. You need me for it, and you are going to pay me back for it. This isn't an easy job, and I expect much, much, much pay from you."_

_Blackfire's eyes filled with tears as his hand went down from her face to her breasts to her leg and up her skirt. "What if we start the paying back now, little girl?"_

Blackfire's eyes filled with tears at the memory that had just come back to her. Was it really worth all the pain he made him go through? "_Yes_."

All the nasty things she had done to him disgusted her to her bones. Although she had learned some new tricks in all fields as he had promised, she did not think she had wanted to willingly learn some of those on her own. "That fucking bastard got what he deserved after all. He got it good and slow; not only on the hands of my sister…but mine as well," Blackfire smiled at the memory of seeing the defeated Slade attempting to escape the burning down lair, and how he gave him the fatal blow. "Her lair was a piece of shit, and so were his henchmen…but I earned them, and they will serve my purposes until we live, right sweetie?"

Robin did not respond.

"Watching him die was the greatest pleasure ever for me…but _helping_ him die was even better than the one before."

xXx

Silence surrounded the Tower. The Titans looked at each other in disbelief.

They had heard Blackfire's confession.

They had heard it all.

"She…she killed Slade…at the very last minute…she _killed_ Slade."

"But I saw him…Robin did too…he was following us!"

"_She_ was the one messing with your minds, Star. Slade is really dead. She killed him before he could escape."

"We are getting Robin back next time we see her."

"We aren't waiting that long, Raven. As soon as Beast Boy arrives with them to their lair, we are heading there to bring him back, and stop Blackfire."

The Titans nodded.

Red X was fixing up Cyborg's body while Starfire and Raven made sure Beast Boy, morphed as a fly, was safe and sound on Robin's body. "That anti-starbolt suit you made for BB is really good, Cy. Blackfire did not even notice he wasn't there anymore."

Cyborg chuckled. "I am proud of the little grass stain. He stuck to the plan and we are sticking by it too. He is risking his green ass there, and the least thing we can do is make sure we succeed this time around."

"We will succeed, Cyborg. We have all the weapons we need to bring my sister down. She is not getting away with this."

"Well, let's get ready for it. As soon as BB gives us the heads up, we are heading to their place. They are not expecting us, I am sure of it."

The Titans nodded and began working on the last snippets of their plan. This was it; the last battle for them: Their last chance to bring back home their leader, and to take back their own lives.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

**A/N: **If you didn't read the big chunk of italicized letters, all you need to know is that Slade treated Blackfire like a slave, and forced her to do things she didn't want to. She had no option because she had no where to go, half of the universe is after her for all her crimes, and Starfire vanished her from Tamaran. The last battle takes place in the final chapter. I will work on it as soon as I can. Thank you so much for waiting and for your supporting PM's and emails. I hope you had a very happy holiday, and I wish you the best for the New Year!


	22. Forever

**A/N: **So…yeah…last chapter. Enjoy it. I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for sticking up with this story; my last TT story! I am moving on to egoshipping writing. If you know what this means and you enjoy it, stay close. I will blow your mind!

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

**Chapter 20**

_Forever – _

Robin woke up after hours of being asleep. His entire body hurt as if he had fought the Titans for a week. He wiggled his toes and his fingers at the feeling of numbness and coldness that surrounded him. He did not remember what he had been doing before he went to sleep, or when was the last time he was awake. The darkness in the room made him feel unwelcome and uncomfortable, even though he was positive this was his own room. He slowly raised his hand to rub his forehead as it itched only to realize he had a big bump and some stitches on it. Robin took a deep breath.

He slowly stood up from bed. He looked down at himself and found nothing out of place but the bruises and the soreness of his body. _"We probably went into battle. We probably lost again."_

His left arm was again bruised close to his elbow, and he had that feeling of numbness that always came after having an unconscious episode. These lapses of unconsciousness had become more frequent as time passed by, and neither him nor Blackfire had been able to figure out the reason for them. She had suggested that he was probably too stressed or too tired because of the struggle to get enough energy to leave Earth once and for all. He believed this to be true as he had always been one who worried too much about everything.

Robin walked to a mirror and stared directly at his reflection. He looked at the person on the mirror, but if he was not holding the mirror himself he would have not recognized the reflection. He hated moments like these. He hated moments where he suddenly forgot who he was, and where he came from. He only knew his name, and the name of his girlfriend, and what their plans for the future were. He knew his present, and he knew his future; yet he did not remember is past.

_"This time is no different, now is it?"_

He had brought up this concern to Blackfire plenty of times, and every time he had, she had always given him the same answer: _"All that matters is that we are together now."_

_"Now? So we weren't always together?"_

He tried his best to believe this to be true, but the feeling of emptiness would not leave him alone. The feeling that he was missing out on something or that there was something he had to do would not leave his mind.

He would wake up like this, with different bruises he had no idea how he had gotten. He would always ask Blackfire how was it that he got them, and she would tell him that they had lost another battle against Blackfire's sister and her friends: The Titans. Why did they have such a grudge against him and Blackfire? What had they done to them? When did all the fighting ever began and why?

No one seemed able –or willing, to give him a straight out and truthful answer for these questions. He had stopped trying after the first month he kept asking, and no one was there to clear his doubts. Now that he thought about it, he did not even know his home all that well. There were many hidden doors and rooms he had never visited or had any idea what purpose they served. He knew how to get to his old room, where he slept alone –the one he was in now, and his new room, where he shared his bed with Blackfire. He also knew how to get to their training room, and their conference room. He also knew where the kitchen was, and where he could go to have a drink.

One time he had wandered around the underground home, and he had realized there were so many different levels and rooms he had never seen. He remembered reaching what seemed like the last level of their home, the level that was more underground, and finding the door locked. He was curious about the contents of this level because he had seen Blackfire go down there several times. She claimed the place was burnt down by a fire that occurred a long time ago, and that she was trying to repair it. When he had offered his help to make the repairing go faster, she had gotten upset and had told him never to get near that place or ever talk about it ever again. Even though he was curious about the place, he chose to drop the topic to not upset her again. He loved her too much to see her upset.

Loved her…

Did he even know what that meant?

She had been the first and only person that had cared for him in a long time, and he did not seem to remember anyone else from his past. All he had was her. All he needed was her; or so she had said many times. Yet, the question always came to his mind whenever they spent their nights together: _"Do I really love this woman?"_

He shook this question out of his head, as he had done every single time there was doubt in his head that what he felt for her was truly love. He needed love, and it seemed to him that she was the only one willing to love him even though he was not sure who he was. He threw the mirror to his bed and decided to look around the place one last time before they left for good. He put on his boots and left his room as quietly as he could. He did not know where Blackfire was, but he wanted to be alone for a while.

He walked down the hall to the emergency stairs. They were too lazy to use the stairs, so they had constructed an elevator to move around the underground building. However, today he felt like walking around and talking to his inner self. He needed time to wrap around his head that he was about to leave Earth, and will surely never come back ever again.

_"Do I have something to come back to, anyway?"_

He kept going downstairs. Part of him told him to go back and look for his girl, but the other part of him told him to visit that room that he had been asked not to go in to before he left. He knew that going against Blackfire's wishes was not a very wise decision, but he figured she would never find out, and it would not hurt as much. _"We are leaving soon, anyway, right?"_

Robin picked up his pace. He began walking faster and without even thinking about it he ended up running downstairs to the room. He stopped in front of the old, rusty door and took a good look at it. He knew the door was locked, but all he had to do was figure out a way to open it. _"That shouldn't be an issue."_

Robin smirked and produced a pin from his pocket. He easily placed it inside the knob and unlocked it. Opening locked doors was a piece of cake to him. He sometimes wondered were he had learned that.

"_I guess I'll never know."_

He shrugged and turned the door knob as quietly and as with much ease as he could. He was expecting the door to shriek when he pushed it back but it did not. "Must be my lucky day," he whispered.

Robin was expecting an old, burnt, moldy, messy, and stinky room.

Oh, was he surprised!

The only thing old about this place was the door he had just unlocked. The inside of the room was neither old, nor burnt, nor moldy, nor messy nor stinky. The place was sparkling clean and in complete order. The room was poorly lighted but it was surrounded by big machines he had seen before somewhere. The only sounds in the room were his steps hitting the sparkling clean tiles on the floor and the delicate buzzing of the machines. The way furniture was arranged, and the atmosphere in the room reminded him of a place he had been in before but could not put his finger on entirely.

_"Déjà vu is an unsettling feeling if you ask me!"_

He walked around the room, taking his time to open the cabinets and drawers around it. There were unmarked bottles filled with liquids of all different colors, as well as needles, thermometers, guns, etc. The more drawers and cabinets he opened, the more confused he became. His search went from a walk in the park, to a frantic search for his own lost self. He opened and closed drawers and boxes. The fact that most of the things in this place were unlabeled was beginning to irk him. _"Why are all these things not labeled?"_

He kept opening cabinet doors and searching for something he himself did not know what it was. There were boxes and boxes of laboratory instruments and different colored liquids that he believed to be dangerous chemicals. Blackfire had a thing about creating new compounds out of old ones, and out of her elements back in Tamaran. She seemed to be very good and have plenty of experience when it came to creating new chemicals. She seemed too knowledgeable about it, sometimes too knowledgeable that it scared him.

_Blackfire was sitting in the kitchen counter dressed in a lab coat. The counter was covered under bottles of different chemicals, a Bunsen burner and laboratory instruments of all kinds. Robin had just woken up from one of his blackout moments and headed to the kitchen to have a drink. He walked in and Blackfire gave him a quick smile before returning her attention to her mini laboratory on the counter. Robin rolled his eyes at the scene and went straight to the bar, grabbing a cold beer from the mini fridge. "What you up to this time, babe?"_

_Blackfire remained silent for a moment while she poured a yellow liquid inside a container with a pink liquid. Robin observed her as she carefully combined the chemicals until they became a new red-looking chemical that served god knew what purpose. Blackfire smiled._

_"I am developing an energy accelerator to minimize the energy required to return to Tamaran. This way we will need less energy from Earth, and we can leave this stinking place sooner than we planned."_

_"Sounds neat."_

_"Is your head ok?"_

_"Yeah, the usual. Headache goes away after I rest."_

_"I am sure these episodes will go away once we are away from Earth. This planet is sickening!"_

_"Maybe."_

_Robin walked to Blackfire and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek before leaving the kitchen and heading to his room. He wanted to rest before Blackfire returned to their room. It was Wednesday night; Blackfire would want attention from him for a while._

Every piece of laboratory equipment and weird looking chemical gave out a new story to remember. He knew that if he did not stop making so much noise, Blackfire was bound to hear him and come downstairs and get mad at him. He did not care. A feeling of being close to the truth and finding answers overpowered him at the moment, and all he wanted was to find something that would clear some doubts in his mind…and his heart.

He walked to the other side of the room to the cabinets and found them to be locked. He pulled another pin from his pocket and began unlocking them. He found rims of paper inside the cabinets; all written in what he presumed was Tamarian. He opened drawer after drawer until he reached the very last one and stopped cold.

The last one did not contain laboratory instruments…

…or chemicals…

…or paperwork…

The last one contained a suit…a costume…

A red, green, and black costume…a uniform…with an embedded R.

_"What is this?"_

Robin pulled out the uniform, and underneath it he discovered a yellow belt, and what seemed to be a round walkie-talkie. The round walkie-talkie had a "T" on the front.

_"Is this the T for Titans? Why do we have this here?"_

Robin sat on the floor and analyzed the outfit. It seemed familiar to him, and the more he tried to remember where he had seen it before, the more his head hurt. He opened the communicator and played with its system. He found valuable information about the Titans like their personal information, the blueprints for their tower and gadgets, profiles of their battling styles and…pictures.

"Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven…Starfire…"

Starfire.

Her girlfriend's beautiful sister…  
…_beautiful_.

He believed she was as attractive as her sister, but there was something…something she had that Blackfire did not have. What it was, he could not tell.

Robin's headache worsened by the second, and all he could do was to hold all these new findings and force himself to remember why they seemed so familiar. Why he, in the back of his mind, believed they belonged to him. _"Why do I feel this way? Why can I not find straight answers? What is wrong?"_

_Beep…beep…beep_

The machine behind him had turned on and had begun beeping. He did not think he had done anything to activate it but not knowing how this room ran maybe he had. Robin eyed the outfit in front of him and decided to return in to the drawer. He did not want Blackfire to find out he had been here without her approval. Now that he thought about it more, this was not a good idea after all.

Robin returned the outfit and the communicator to the drawer, but decided to look inside the belt. He opened compartment after compartment and found similar gadgets to the ones he knew how to use. Even though he had never seen some of them before, an idea of how the gadget was used formed in his mind. He reached the middle compartment and found it to be empty. He believed it was probably the storing place for the communicator. He was about to close it again when he saw a picture pasted in the inside cover of the compartment. He unrolled the cover and eyed the picture carefully.

It was a picture of Starfire…and him…

Robin took a deep breath.

Robin was dressed in regular clothes, and so was Starfire. He had his arm around her waist, and she was holding his face with one hand and his back with the other, pulling his check to her lips. He was holding the camera with his other hand and smiling at it while Starfire had her eyes closed and kissed his cheek.

Robin was speechless.

_"Why are we together in this picture? Is this a fake?"_

"Why do I look…happy…with her?"

Robin sat there for a moment, admiring the picture as thousands of questions popped in his mind. His breathing became labored and his headache became even worse than other times. He eyed the picture attentively as voices echoed in his mind; voices that belonged to the Titans…voices that belonged to her.

_"Robin, get out of that room of yours!"_

_"Robin, want to play Mega Monkeys IV?"_

_"Your cheap gel stinks miles away!"_

_"We need to find Slade."_

_"Terra could join the team."_

_"This is Red X's fault…"_

_"Robin, I love you…"_

"Starfire…" Robin whispered as he stared at the picture. "…I lo —Ah!"

Robin's head began getting pounded by memories, memories he had forgotten he had. He saw the Titans in the Tower…and he saw himself with them, wearing the outfit he had just placed back in the cabinet. He saw himself with Starfire, laughing with her, playing with her, kissing her…

"…loving her…"

His heart filled with ache at the memory of losing her went she left for Tamaran. He saw himself, awake at the middle of the night, wishing she were with him. He saw himself with her at the balcony of Tamaran in his dream: _"Marry me, Stafire."_

And then he saw Blackfire.

He saw her attacking him. He saw her attacking them. He saw her attacking her. Blackfire had hurt the Titans…and had hurt him.

Robin closed his eyes and heard the beeping of the machine behind him getting faster. He had heard that beeping before. He had seen this room before. He had been in it before, and Blackfire had been with him. _"Believe me sweetie; this hurts me more than it actually hurts you."_

_"She tricked me!"_

Then, his last memory formed in his mind. He saw him and Starfire, sharing a bed the night before she left. "Our first night together…the night…she left for Tamaran…"

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

Robin was brought back to reality by the alarm going off in his home. He threw the belt he did not remember holding before back in an empty drawer next to him. He stood up and began running to the exit as quick as he could. As soon as he locked the door behind him and began going up the stairs to the main room, Blackfire called him up in the speaker.

"Robin, the Titans are here!"

Robin's pace fastened. He was not ready for a battle with the Titans. He was still recovering from their last encounter and he had made himself to the idea that he would never see them again. "That was the last portion of energy we needed! We didn't have to be here at all!"

"Robin, hurry up! They have invaded our home!"

Robin reached the highest level of the underground facility and began running down the halls, skidding at the corners, screaming for Blackfire to show her face. He wondered what he was doing all the way down in the last level of their home and not close to her as he would always would be.

"What did I go down there for? What was I looking for?"

Robin's thoughts became interrupted by the sound of starbolts being sent against the wall. Robin stopped cold as the wall next to him exploded, lifting dirt and leaving smoke behind it while Beast Boy flew in the hall through the hole in the wall.

Beast Boy grunted when he hit the floor but stood up only a few seconds later, grinning as if victory was certainly his. "I told you, bitch. Your bolts can hurt me!"

Robin looked at the changeling and back at Blackfire. Her eyes and fists glowed bright purple. She was mad. She was very mad. She was ready to kill. She turned to her left and saw Robin standing there. She smiled at him.

"Sweetie, get this puny excuse for a comedian while I look for the rest of the intruders. They are _not _getting out of here alive this time around."

Robin nodded but said nothing and saw his girlfriend fly away from them. He eyed Beast Boy attentively while the green teen narrowed his eyes at him and position himself in defense mode. Robin spared Beast Boy two seconds of his attention and focused at the hall where Blackfire had left just moments ago.

"_Did she say _this_ time around?"_

Robin's eyes returned to Beast Boy. Beast Boy smiled at his leader. "This is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you, Robin."

"_People have got to stop saying that!"_

"Bring it on, little green man."

XxXxXxX

Blackfire threw a starbolt at Raven, forcing her to create a barrier around Cyborg, Red X and her. "How much longer are we supposed to play along with this?" The half-man, half-machine asked his dark teammate.

Cyborg, while still covered by Raven's aura, charged his sonic cannon and aimed at Blackfire. Raven made a hole in her barrier to allow Cyborg's cannon to exit and hit Blackfire on her chest. Blackfire hit the wall and coughed up blood. Red X followed the attack by kicking her on the stomach and pinning her to the wall. Blackfire coughed up more blood.

"We see each other again, QB."

Blackfire eyed him fiercely, trying to release herself from his embrace.

"It ain't gonna work, QB. My strength has returned. You cannot beat me."

"Shut the fuck up! You cannot match my strength, Shadow."

"You can't say that, we never finished our little match back at the alley, did we? Tell me, what made you give up so easily?"

"It was part of the plan, remember?"

"Was it part of the plan to move to the Centaury Galaxy too?"

Blackfire growled.

Seeing Red X in front of her brought her awful memories of their past together. Blackfire had been running away from the Centaury Police, and since Starfire had vanished her from her own home planet, she had been living day to day with what she found. She had tried to show she did not care that she did not have a place to stay or anyone who would care for her like her sister did. However, in the back of her mind she felt resentful for what Starfire had taken away from her. It was unconceivable that the would-be Queen of Tamaran was scavenging for food and shelter as a stray dog. This was not supposed to be this way. She would get back at her sister, one way or the other.

Blackfire had traveled the universe looking for a place to stay, settle and plan her revenge. She tried several planets but it was not long before someone would recognize her from the advertisements as a wanted alien who was running away from the Centaury Police. She moved from planet to planet, hoping that she would not be found and that she could at last stop running away every day.

She spent months and months living of what she stole from other aliens, and even resorted to prostitution to gain some wealth. Without knowing or wanting she had stopped on Earth. The Earth her sister loved too dearly.

She had been following her and her friends for quite some time, but she had made it so that they did not know she was around them. She eavesdropped their conversations. She investigated their lives, likes and dislikes every single day for six months. She learned every single thing there was to know about them to destroy them. She had all the great ideas, but none of the resources to attack.

It was then that one dark night she met Slade.

She now wished she never had. She had promised herself she would not remember those horrible days working for him, and how he betrayed her at the end.

_"That fool got what he deserved." _Blackfire thought.

_"You made sure of it, didn't you QB?"_

_"You can still read minds?"_

_"I wish I couldn't read one as dirty and demented as yours…"_

_"Fuck you, Red X."_

_"And Slade fucked you, QB."_

Blackfire used her laser eyes to push Red X away from her. Red X flew backwards and landed close to Raven and Cyborg. He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "Damn, that girl is mad! How long do we have to hold her up, you said?"

"As long as we have to until Starfire reaches Robin. Beast Boy will back us up when she does. We have to hang on!"

Cyborg nodded in agreement and prepared to recharge. Blackfire glared at them while recharging her bolts herself. Raven and Cyborg were back to back, ready for whatever the dark-haired Tamarian had prepared for them. Red X smiled at Blackfire but she glared in return.

_"Slade fucked you up big time, bitch. But, hell! You deserved every little bit of it."_

_"And you are gonna wish he had killed me when he had the chance, Shadow."_

_"That, I doubt."_

Starfire saw the scene from the distance, wanting to stay longer to help her friends. She wanted to help them battle Blackfire, as she knew how much of a handful she could be especially when she was as mad as she was at the moment. However, she had her own task to do and the success of their mission depended on her. She took a step forward towards them but then closed her eyes and turned around, running without looking back. She wished the Titans good luck and opened her communicator she had been holding dearly in her hand. She chose the trace option to search for Beast Boy's whereabouts but she could not pinpoint his exact location. She knew he was with Robin but did not know where to start looking for them both.

"_Please_, Beast Boy, answer the call!"

Starfire switched from running down the dozens of halls, to flying around them. She had been in this place before; they all had, but it had been a different situation and neither of them truly wanted to remember it. Here she was, years later, running –flying, the same halls searching for her loved one. Same place, almost the same people involved, around the same time…

"But this time no one of us will sacrifice lives!"

Starfire flew up and down stairs, through many doors and even broke windows. She did not know where she was exactly, but she could still hear the faint sound of a heated battle somewhere in the back. She had to hurry up; she knew her friends would not make it if she failed her mission.

She began flying faster. The lights began to flicker and buzzing sounds came from behind the doors around her. Her heart began pounding and she could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She had promised herself she was not going to cry anymore, but her search was not being successful. This was her last chance to get Robin back to them, and she failing miserably.

"Please, oh please, Beast Boy…Tell me where you are!"

The communicator beeped.

She knew she was not psychic, and that Beast Boy was not either, but boy oh boy did the changeling have good timing!

"Beast Boy, send in your location!"

"I don't think that is necessary!"

"Why not? I need your location!"

"Look up, Stafire!"

And she did. Starfire's eyes began watering again. There she was, and there he was, standing right in front of her. Her eyes went from Robin to Beast Boy, back and forth. Both of them seemed tired and hurt, but neither them seemed about to give up. Her heart went out to Beast Boy, knowing how hard it must have been to keep up with Robin. She knew all of them were pretty strong, but this new vicious Robin seemed stronger than the old one. She knew Robin could be this strong while still being his normal self, but his sense of loyalty, well-being and doing, and his immensely big heart prevented him from fighting so ruthlessly while in his normal Robin self.

"_The old Robin would have not laid a hand on me."_

Beast Boy looked at his wrist seeming like he was reading a watch that only he could see, and slapped his head comically. "Will you look at the time? It has been good, Robin, but I have other things to do. I will leave you with my lovely assistant, Starfire! You've met her, right?"

Beast Boy pointed at Starfire who was still overwhelmed with the importance of her task and how it would soon be over, whether she was successful or not. She held back a sob and took a deep breath before flying next to the green Titan and finally standing right next to him. Beast Boy patted Starfire on her shoulder, obviously seeing the anxiety in her eyes. He pointed at Robin and then at her and then back at him while he spoke.

"Starfire, this is Robin. Robin, this is Stafire. It might seem you have never seen her in your life, but I bet you have seen her more than we all have."

Starfire could not help to sigh deeply at Beast Boy's comment. Beast Boy nodded and winked at her before he ran in front of her and disappeared into the dark hall. She knew he was heading towards the battle between the Titans and Blackfire, and she was grateful that he was on his way to aid them. Starfire looked at him until his figure was no longer visible and smiled. _"I know you are doing this more for me than for you. Thank you, friends."_

Starfire's grateful thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain in her chest. It felt like her lungs had been hit so hard that they were ready to explode from the inside out. The pain crawled around her body, spreading like an incurable disease that planned to take her very existence from her in a matter of seconds. She turned her head to face whatever force was making her feel this way and her heart broke along with her already weak leg as she hit the wall and then the floor.

"Robin…why?"

Robin lifted her up by her collar and pressed her against the wall. He glared at her and then stared at her broken leg. It had started bleeding.

"You are too fragile to be fighting here. What do you want from me?"

Starfire swallowed the big lump in her throat and opened her mouth to speak but he let go of her and she hit the ground, hard. She whimpered as her battered leg bent in an awkward way. For some unbeknownst reason, Robin felt sorry for her and wished he had not done what he did. He did not mean to break her leg; he just wanted to scare her off from there. Starfire sobbed at she lightly patted her broken leg. It had been broken before; she should have guessed it could get broken again.

"I don't want you to suffer…you need to get out of danger."

Starfire faced him, tears still fresh on her face. He did not say a word, but his eyes said more than he could have said at the moment. He was sorry. He was really, truly and undeniable sorry. For _everything_ he had done.

"What are you waiting for? For me to change my mind?"

Starfire shook her head.

"Look, if you walk out that door now I promise I will get Blackfire and leave. We were planning on leaving anyway. So if you just take your friends with you I will be out of your face before you can say --"

"I am _not_ leaving with you."

Robin took a step back. "You are very stubborn, aren't you?"

"I guess it rubbed on me…from you…"

Robin was taken aback. Whoever this girl –woman was, he felt compelled to protect her. He wanted to believe it was the fact that since she walked into the fight, she had been trying not to cry, though she had failed to do so. He had broken her leg, and she had done nothing to protect herself from him. He knew what was coming. He knew Blackfire would take care of the Titans and then would come back after her. She would kill her, and for all he knew, this weak little girl in front of him would let her do it. _"I can't let that happen."_

Robin took a few steps back, and Starfire's hand reached out for him. At first she believed he was running away from her, letting her deal with misery by herself but she was greatly mistaken. He reached for his utility belt and a laser disc appeared on his hand. He threw it at her and all she did was cover her face. The light illuminated the room and burned the sides of her arms she had used to protect herself. Her knees also burned a little, leaving redness and puffiness around them.

"I will throw you some more if you don't fly away now!"

Starfire did not move.

He growled and reluctantly reached for his belt again. He grabbed a couple more of the laser discs and threw them at her. She heard her whimper but did not see any effort in her part to move. He was getting desperate. She was not about to drop everything and leave. He did the only thing he believed he could do: he attacked.

He charged towards her and prepared to hit her with a flying kick. She flinched and closed her eyes for second. She then opened them up.

They were glowing green. So were her fists. She was going to fight back.

Starfire grabbed his foot before it hit her and slammed Robin against the wall. He hit it hard and fell, face down a few feet away from her. She slowly began flying, attempting to ignore the pain she was feeling from her leg. Robin coughed up dirt and rose up. Her eyes and fists were still glowing green, but her eyes were not scared anymore. Her eyes showed determination; a determination he had seen on he before, but he could not remember when or why.

"You are not taking up my offer, are you?"

"As I said, I am not leaving you behind."

She smiled and, for a second, he did too. He took a fighting stance and she built up her energy around her. "Shall we dance?"

"I thought you would never ask."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Do you really think you can stop me?"

Blackfire was holding herself against a wall. She was tired and so were the Titans. They had been fighting for quite some time now. As strong as her race was, she did not think she could hold on much more. "Can't you see it? I won! You lost!"

"I don't see you flying away with Robin, Blackfire. I see you as tired as we are. No one was won this battle yet."

"I won't lose! I will not be enslaved again!"

"Who said anything about enslaving? You are going straight to jail!"

"If I am not surviving this, neither are any of you."

Blackfire began walking around the room, blasting everything around them. The Titans stared at her and then at themselves. She was not trying to hit them directly, but she was blocking the exits and making holes on the walls around them. Some of the machines in the room began burning but the Titans did not have time to worry about it. Blackfire was running away from them.

"Stop it! Don't make us run after you ass, girl!"

But Blackfire did not listen. She kept flying towards random directions and setting everything on fire, breaking everything she could, and blocking all the exits she saw. "What the heck is she doing?"

"She is gonna burn the place down…burn all of us down…"

"What?"

Beast Boy looked at Red X in disbelief. "What do you mean burn us down? She will die along with us!"

"She doesn't seem to care to me."

The Titans followed her around the building. She was blasting and breaking everything with a bright smile on her face. "You are all gonna die with me…you are all gonna die!"

"Stop this, Blackfire! We will find a way to get out, and you know it!"

"You won't get out on time…and neither will them…"

"Who?"

She stopped right in front of them and pointed to her left. The Titans followed Blackfire's finger. She was pointing at the other two Titans in front of them. The only Titans that seemed to be in a fierce battle at the moment: Robin and Starfire.

"_No!"_

Blackfire began laughing. She had lost it. As she laughed, she blasted some more, her attacks increasing in speed, accuracy and strength. The Titans attempted to stop her but every time they were trying to get near her, she would blast them off. "We need to stop her or she will burn us alive. This place is falling apart...again."

"I know that, Cyborg," Raven said, "but I think we are better off getting Robin and Starfire and fleeing this place."

Blackfire suddenly stopped her attacks. She took a few steps back and opened her arms wide. She extended one arm in front of her and the other on the back. Red starbolts began forming on both of her hands. Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Red X were in front of her. Robin and Starfire, who had paused their fight momentarily, were behind her. Blackfire's eyes were glowing a very bright red as she felt tears forming in her eyes. She looked at the Titans in front of her, and then the ones behind her.

"You don't know the things I did for that man."

"What?"

"She is talking about Slade."

Blackfire sniffed.

"The things I did for him…they weren't pretty at all…you would never understand how I feel."

"What are you talking about, sister?"

Blackfire snorted. "Sister? Why are you calling me sister? You know better than anyone else here that we are no family. Family does not expel you from your own planet; family does not send you to jail."

"You did that to yourself, Blackfire. Don't try to blame it on Star."

"And you, Red X? Do you think you can be happy with them? With her? She never loved you…she never will…"

"And Robin will never love you. Drugging him will not do either."

"SHUT UP!"

The starbolts in her hands kept getting bigger by the second.

"He promised me he would destroy you. But he didn't! He lied to me! He tricked me to get what he wanted!"

"You should have known not to trust Slade!"

Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at each other, not knowing exactly what was going on. Starfire's eyes went from Blackfire to Red X to Robin. They seemed to be in the same page.

"You…drugged me?"

Blackfire flinched, turning her head around to face Robin. "I wanted you with me…and you wouldn't forget…you wouldn't forget about her!"

"So…all of those headaches…"

"You were trying to remember…every time you saw them you were trying to remember. Those headaches told me when you needed a treatment again."

Neither of the Titans could speak. Their minds were too busy trying to understand what she was trying to say. "All I wanted was to be happy."

"Bullshit," Red X said. "Happy? By tricking me? By tricking them? All of them? By killing Slade?"

"He deserved it!"

The starbolts kept growing.

"He thought he could send me back to jail after everything I did for him? He…he forced himself on me. He betrayed me!"

"And you betrayed me, Blackfire," Starfire said.

"You betrayed me first!"

"No, I did not!"

"Yes, you did! You took away my throne. You took away my planet, my reign. You always had everything. Friends, people who loved you. I never had anyone. No one ever cared about me!"

"I cared about you," Starfire said as she began flying towards her. "I cared about you more than I cared about myself, but you ran away from Tamaran. I could not go after you, and then I became a slave. You do not know what I went through as a slave, looking for you!"

Blackfire chuckled. "Stop moving or I will break your other leg. You think I do not know what it is to be a slave? I WAS a slave too, you know?"

"What?"

Starbolts were still growing.

"I was a slave. I learned a thing or two. How do you think I gave you those nightmares and visions? How do you think I almost killed all of you? I trained a lot…and I learned how to mess with people's minds. Honestly, I was hoping you would kill yourself and make my job easier. I was hoping Robin would also go insane and kill the rest. But you had to be so damned stubborn, both of you!"

"You…gave us the Slade visions?"

Blackfire growled. "I thought I had just said that! Of course I did! What did you think? That Slade was still alive? He is dead, I made sure he died that night you were infiltrating this place when it belonged to him. He thought he could escape. You thought you had killed him, but you didn't. I did. I gave him the final blow."

"How did give us these visions? How come no one else could see them but us?"

"Simple, little sister. Remember that battle you had a long time ago. When you first discovered my henchmen? You and Robin were separated from the group; you were an easy target. You have alien chips implanted in your brain. You will never be able to get them out. And now, you won't be able to get out from here alive either."

Blackfire released the bolts.

The bolt in front of her hit the Titans full force. Raven tried to create a barrier to protect them but she was not able to hold it. The more the bolt advanced towards them, the more it grew and expanded. The machines began exploding, the walls collapsed and the ground opened. "See you in hell, Titans."

The room where the Titans had once been standing had disappeared. A dark abysm replaced the scenery as Robin and Starfire watched helplessly from behind Blackfire. Starfire returned the attack by hitting Starfire's bolt with bolts of her own. The bolt did not dissipate but grew in intensity, absorbing Starfire's own energy. "You fool, you can't do anything now. The place is gonna burn. That starbolt, along with your friends, have been sent to the last floor of this building. The combustible down there will react with my energy. In a matter of seconds, we are all going to die."

"NO!"

Blackfire smiled as she released the last starbolt she was holding in her hand. The bolt aimed towards Robin and Starfire as they helplessly saw it coming their way. Starfire flew to Robin, ignoring the sharp pain in her leg and grabbed his arms. The bolt made a hole on the ground and incinerated everything that got in its way. "Let me go!"

"NO! You are coming with me!"

Starfire pulled Robin down, trying to escape form the starbolt. She pulled out her communicator and attempted to communicate with the Titans. "Please respond, what is your status?"

No response.

"This is Starfire; please respond with your status."

Nothing.

Starfire flew faster to reach the ground first. If she could not stop Blackfire, she had to stop the bolt from ever reaching the ground. Robin's ears and head hurt at the speed she was now flying. "This is it! This is it!"

There was the last floor. The floor Robin had been mingling just moments ago.

"Hang on, Robin!"

Starfire suddenly stopped and threw Robin to the floor. He rolled over and hit a cabinet, sending the drawers in it to the floor. The air in his lungs had been suddenly pushed out, and he gasped to get some air. "What the fuck was that for?"

He slowly turned around and got on all fours. He coughed up blood as he regained strength and sense. "She is so strong."

He stared at her from where he was, and saw her creating a bigger bolt on top of her head. She was flying on a standing position, her eyes and her fists glowing red. "I must stop this."

Robin shook his head and began standing up. He patted his clothes and made sure nothing was broken. "Broken?"

He then remembered what he had done moments ago. He turned around and looked at Starfire's leg. Her leg was now covered in blood. Blood that left a long trail of red around it and below her. The fire kept spreading and it was becoming more difficult to breathe. He covered his mouth and looked around himself to find something to breathe through. He kicked the parts of machines around him until he saw a rag. "This will do."

He bent down and picked it up, but something flew out of it. He followed the paper with his eyes until it touched the floor. He picked it up and stared at it long and deep until he realized what it was. It was covered in ashes and some parts were burnt but he could still make out the two faces on it. It was him…with her…

"Starfire…"

Robin's head began spinning and hurting like it had not hurt ever before. Voices echoed in his mind as he tried to keep balance and not fall to the floor. Images appeared in his head at a very fast pace, one after the other. "What is wrong with me?!"

"_Robin, you must forget about her. You belong to me now. They left you behind. She forgot about you! She wants to be with Red X. You lost. He won. Stay with me!"_

Blackfire's voice appeared in Robin's mind. He tried to block her out but he could not. Memories of the fire came back to his mind. He remembered how they were all about to die but Starfire came back from Tamaran just in time to save them. He remembered how she had tried to save him as well but the masked henchman took them out. "That masked henchman…he was Blackfire in disguise…"

He then remembered tying Starfire to his last working Birdarang. He knew he was not going to make out of that fire, but he had to make sure she made it out. He remembered seeing her being pulled out of the fire and then the masked henchman came back after him. He took him away before the explosion took place. _"The Titans left you behind, Robin. You did everything you could to save them and they didn't care about you! They didn't wait for you!"_

"No, that is not true!"

"_But it is…you saw her fly away. She left you there…she could have saved you…"_

"She was hurt, her arm…and her leg…she couldn't fly…"

"_She could…she just told you she couldn't, so she wouldn't have to worry about you!"_

"NO! LIAR! She couldn't fly! You took away her powers! You took away her powers!"

"_No…she lied to you…she wanted you dead so she could be with Red X…"_

"SHUT UP!"

"_She brought him back to life…to be with him…"_

"SHUP.UP!"

"_Who are you talking to, Robin. Me or Slade?"_

"Get out of my head! Get out or I will break it!"

Broken, again. Robin fell on the floor hitting his head against the floor. "Get out! Get out! Get out!"

He rolled over the floor as if he was being attacked by an animal until the voices finally stopped. He was panting and sweating and tired. He slowly rose and his memory come racing back to him. He saw all the moments he had been blocked from remembering. He saw his friends, _her_, all of them, around him. He felt his heart race and his will return. He could choose now. He remembered where he was, what he was supposed to do…and _who_ he was. _"Broken no more…BROKEN!"_

"Starfire…she is gonna bleed to death. I must save her!"

"Starfire!"

Starfire turned to her left and saw the Titans running away from the room behind them. Fire was blazing from the door. Cyborg was carrying Beast Boy, and Red X was carrying Raven who was almost unconscious. "Starfire, we need to get out!"

"I will stop it, get Robin!"

"You can't do it Star! We have to get out!"

"NO! Get Robin out of here!"

"NO! I am not leaving you behind, Starfire!"

Starfire turned to her right and saw Robin walking towards her, a paper in his hand.

It was the picture of them together.

The old Robin was back.

"This place is gonna blow up. Raven can get us out of here but she is very weak. It has to be done now."

"Ok."

The Titans gathered around Raven who was holding on to Red X for deal life. They had all been harmed by Blackfire's red bolt and were ready to throw in the towel. Raven closed her eyes and a black aura began surrounding her, eventually extending to the Titans. The black aura began covering the Titans, one by one. Robin walked next to Starfire and pulled her on skirt. "Come on, Star! We have to go!"

"If I let go now, we will burn down before Raven can get us out of here. I will hold until she is ready to teleport us back to the forest."

"I am not leaving until you let go."

"Robin, please…"

"No! You are hurt and you are bleeding. I am not letting you die here! We are leaving together or not leaving at all."

"How about not at all?" Blackfire said.

The Titans faced Blackfire and gasped in horror. She was severely burnt on her body and face. One of her eyes was gone, and she flew like she was drunk. "Look at what you did to me! I won't let you escape!"

Blackfire charged against Starfire. Starfire knew she could not move for the sake of the Titans and opted to close her eyes, wait for the impact, and try and keep her stand. All of their lives depended on her. She could not let them down.

Starfire's body tensed awaiting the hit she would receive from her sister but it never came. She opened her eyes trying to figure out what happened only to find Robin in front of her; protecting her from the hit.

"Robin…"

Blackfire eyes him fiercely with her one eye. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I should be asking the same question to you."

Robin hit Blackfire on her stomach with his knee. Blackfire fell to the floor not so much because of the hit, but because of the surprise that Robin had actually hit her. "How could you do this to me? I saved you from that fire! I risked my life for you, and this is how you repay me?"

"You didn't save me from any danger! You were the one who put US in danger!"

"This is not over yet. I will kill you all, starting with your precious girlfriend over there…if her wound doesn't kill her first…the wound YOU inflicted on her!"

Blackfire tried to stand up again but was stopped by a hand on her leg. The hand was coming from the floor, and it was burning her badly; burning through her skin. "What the…?"

The hand holding her became an arm. The arm became a shoulder. The shoulder became a chest. The chest became a body. A black aura surrounded the floor around her. She was being pulled down. Pulled down –into, to the floor!

"Raven, this is very good! Keep holding her up!"

Raven looked up to face Red X and shook her head. "That is not my doing."

And time stopped, literally.

A shadow emerged from the floor next to Blackfire. The shadow had no face but a tall, muscular figure could be seen. He kept his hold on Blackfire and slowly rose her up until she was upside down, hanging from his hand. Starfire looked back at the bold and it has stopped. Robin looked around and everything had stopped. Time had frozen!

"What is going on?"

"It's…him…"

The shadowy figure took form…and a face.

"No…it can't be…"

"It IS him…"

"Slade…"

Slade's figure appeared in front of them. His body was burnt to the point where some bones were sticking out. His mask was broken and he had a huge hole in his stomach. "Long time no see, lady."

The Titans froze.

"_This is the last thing we needed! Fuck!"_

"Evening, Titans."

"Slade…how can it be?"

"We cant' take both of them in our condition, Cyborg!"

"I know, X."

"Don't worry Titans; I did not come after you. I came for _her_. Did you miss me, lady?"

Blackfire gasped.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, it is quite simple. You made sure I died that night your alien sister tried to kill me. I am just here to return the favor."

"Blackfire! No!"

Slade smirked under his broken mask. Blackfire began screaming and trying to free herself from Slade. A black aura began surrounding both Slade and Blackfire, pulling them down to the ground, at the same moment time unfroze. Starfire felt the hit of the bolt as it approached her even closer. She had been too distracted seeing how Slade was dragging her sister to the depths of hell to notice the starbolt coming back to life. What was she supposed to do? She could not let go of the bolt because her friends and herself would surely die. She could not let her sister die either, but she could not be in two places at once. Cyborg was taking care of Beast Boy, Red X was watching over Raven, and Raven was gathering all of her energy to save them all. There was only one person who could help her.

"Robin, my sister, save her!"

Robin thought about it for a split second before the pleading eyes of his girlfriend hit the spot. He was a hero, and heroes do not kill or let people die, but this woman had made Starfire suffer enough. Yet, he also knew that if Blackfire died without any of them trying to save her, Starfire would blame herself for the rest of her life. _"I do it for you, Star. Only for you."_

Robin jumped towards the black hole that engulfed Blackfire and held her arm. "Fight it, Blackfire! Fight it!"

"Let me go!"

"NO!"

"LET ME GO!"

"I SAID NO!"

"Why? Why are you saving me?"

"Because Starfire, your sister, even after everything you did to her, wants you to live. If not for you, for her. Now help me out!"

"Robin, there is no time!" Red X screamed. "Raven is about to pass out! We have to go…now!"

"No, please wait for my sister…I beg of you!"

"We can't!"

"Robin!"

"Starfire!"

"Raven!"

"NO!"

"AH!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


	23. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

I saw them leave the Tower after everyone else was gone. They had walked around their former home for the last time. I followed them from the shadows; they didn't know I was there. I had said my goodbyes the night we returned to the Tower after we got _him_ back to them.

We were exhausted, and our last efforts to save Blackfire did not work at all. She was dragged to the very own depths of hell by Slade himself. He managed to send Robin away from them and all that Robin could do was grab Starfire's leg. Red X grabbed Robin's leg, and the human –Titan chain disappeared into the darkness of Raven's aura. I heard Starfire call out her sister's real name before she herself passed out from the effort and loss of blood.

_"Komand'r!"_

Her voice still echoes in my head. It was both scary and painful to my ears. We went straight to the hospital and we spent a few days in there until we were good to go. The night the Titans were released from the hospital we had a party. The last party in Titans Tower.

I sat on the edge of the roof as I am right now, and looked at the Titans. They all seemed much, much older than they really were. Life had hit them hard, and even after all those difficult times they had to go through, they stood tall and were still alive and kicking.

They had survived.

I still remember the day Robin and Starfire left the Tower for good. They settled the new Titans in and headed straight for the door. They waved goodbye and the Tower's door closed behind them. They both sat on Robin's R-Cycle and gave their former home one last look.

Starfire's arms went around Robin from behind, placing her cheek against his back. I still remember their conversation before they left.

"_Are you afraid? Of what awaits us now that we are normal?" _

"_Starfire, we will never be normal…at least not entirely." _

"_Is that so? Are you not scared of what might come our way?" _

"_If you had asked me that question before I met you, I would have said yes. But after everything we've been through…everything we said…everything we did…the only thing I am afraid of now is to lose what we have…lose you."_

I saw her smile deeply.

He smiled too.

"_I never imagined we would leave this place…I knew we would someday…but I did not wish to see it coming." _

"_I know what you mean…we didn't think it would be so soon." _

"_Five years is a long time." _

"_Time goes by rather fast when you are having fun…or when you are chasing villains."_

She giggled.

"_I know it shouldn't but…letting go feels right. I wonder why we didn't do it sooner." _

"_Because first Raven was missing, then Beast Boy, then I and then you…" _

"_Wow! These people are getting an extremely lowly used Tower!" _

"_We should ask for a refund!"_

They both laughed. Robin placed a helmet on Starfire, and then put on his own helmet. He started the bike and waited a few seconds to look at the Tower one last time. Starfire smiled.

"_Do you think we should tell them about the remote?" _

"_Nah, let them figure it out on their own."_

And they were gone.

So, what if I wasn't honest?

What if I wasn't entirely true to myself?

No one ever found out, and no one will ever know about it.

Who gives a damn if I lied? I sure as hell don't.

In order to claim one's rights, one must first fulfill responsibilities. I did. I went the extra mile. Nobody asked me to; I wanted to. I had the chance to forget about them…and about her and what I feel for her. I chose not to. I needed her. I always will. She's a part of me. She always will be. So what if my past wasn't the best? I can't change it, but I can make up for it. That is what I planned to do…

…and I succeeded.

The past is important; true…you can't go anywhere if you don't have one. But if you don't let go of it, you can't really move on. I moved on…but I don't think I entirely let go. I love her. She loves him. He loves her, **dearly**. He almost died for her. I actually did.

I don't know why I am still here, why the gods gave me the opportunity to live and stay alive. I don't object, but adapting to a life without her near me is agonizing; truly painful, it eats me inside. I see her every single day from afar. I think about her every single day. I dream about her every single night. Yet, I only exist in her memory. She remembers me, I know that much. But her heart belongs to him; and all of him belongs to her.

I know I can't have her…but that doesn't mean she can't be happy with someone else. It's not that I didn't love her enough to tell her the truth…it's just that I love her too much to see her cry. I know they belong together, and nothing will ever get on their way, not even me. I never had a chance. No one ever will. I see it on her eyes, and its written all over his face.

I sometimes follow her. I think she knows I am there but she doesn't show it. I like to keep her safe from the distance. I know she will never need me anyway. He holds her dear; she holds his life in her hands and she doesn't even know it. She doesn't know how much of he belongs to her. He feels the way I feel. He sees her as I see her. He needs her to breathe. He needs her to live. I do too, but he needs her more than I do.

What about the Titans? What about them and their new ways? If I had to describe it in one line, all I would have to say would be: Things truly change. No matter how much we believe things will always stay the same, they change either too slowly for us to realize, or too fast for us to see them coming. The Titans aren't Titans anymore. Yet, the friends are still friends. The couple is now a real couple.

I guess you don't know they are engaged, do you? It took the guy three years after the Titans split to pop the question, but I don't blame him. He wanted to have something to offer, even if she did not care what was to be gained. The wedding date is scheduled for next year. I think I might drop by; the building on the back has an incredible view from the rooftop. Beast Boy and Cyborg are both best men. I still can't believe Star convinced Raven to wear pink; that's the color she chose for the maid of honor. Surprisingly, pink fits Raven quite well. I'm glad they are taking the next step. There is nothing I can offer her that she already doesn't have. There is nothing I can offer her than he cannot provide. There is nothing I can offer her that she might want from me.

I come here frequently, to think. I sit on the edge of the roof and watch the stars, just as she loves to do. I know she doesn't live here anymore, but the new inhabitants of the Giant T don't mind my presence. They don't even know I'm here. This is a nice place, though. If I close my eyes and let lose, I can still smell her scent in the air. I can still feel her touch in the wind. I can still hear her laugh around me. Her presence has never really left this place. I wish I could never leave this place as long as part of her is still here. We never really leave a place, do we? I am getting to comfortable with this place. I felt comfortable when I lived here. But tonight is my last night here; I have to move on. I tried it before; this time is for real.

Sometimes we feel so comfortable in one place that we don't want to let go. We think the comfort will last forever and we don't appreciate what we have. When we lose it we end up regretting what we didn't do and wish we could go back. Truth is that we can never go back, and we shouldn't go back. Keep the good times, forget the bad. Think of tomorrow, because today is already the past…

…I'll try to live by this belief…

…as much as I know she now does.

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

**A/N:** And that's it! Yes, this chapter was brought to you by Red X. He is still alive and he will stay alive until he is old and wrinkled. Yes, the Titans are disbanded; they can now go do what they couldn't do before: live!

I cannot thank you enough for sticking to this story for more than a year. When I began writing it, I did not think it would be long. Yet, the more I wrote, the more complex it became. I am glad you liked it. I am not a review-needy person, but the few reviews this story gained are highly appreciated. I am out of ideas and will take a long break. I might come back, I might not. It all depends on my available time to write, and whether another story comes to me in my dreams.

I'll be waiting for the Titans to come back. I know they will.

See ya, kiddos!

Miss Starfire


End file.
